Arash Derambarsh (Persian: آرش درمبخش; born 25 July 1979) is a French editor, author, and debarred lawyer.[1] He is a member of the City Council of Courbevoie, and an activist against food waste.[2]
Arash Derambarsh | |
|---|---|
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| Personal details | |
| Born | 25 July 1979 13th arrondissement of Paris, France |
| Relations | Kioumars Derambakhsh (Father) |
| Occupation | Politician Author |
| Website | http://www.arashderambarsh.com |
Early life
editDerambarsh was born on 25 July 1979 in Paris to Iranian parents.[3]
Controversies
editClaim of being the new president of Facebook
editIn 2008 Derambarsh claimed to have been appointed president of Facebook and wanted to "speak to the world"[4] but it was found to be a gross exaggeration and distortion of reality meant at gaining quick celebrity.[5]
PhD nullified by Paris 1 University for plagiarism
editDerambarsh enrolled in a PhD degree in 1998. In December 2015, after having been rejected from University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas in his PhD studies, he obtained a PhD in Law from University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne. This allowed him to join the bar without passing the bar exam, which he had previously failed twice.[6] The PhD manuscript was very unusually made secret to the public until 2047, on the grounds that it allegedly contained top secret content.[7]
An anonymous Twitter account nonetheless obtained a copy of the manuscript and argued that 95% of the thesis had been plagiarised, and that hundreds of pages did not have any footnotes. This triggered an enquiry from the disciplinary section of the academic council of the University of Paris 1. On 10 July 2020, it found that most of the dissertation was plagiarised, that Derambarsh improperly used allegations of confidential information to conceal his offense, and that at least 76% of the thesis was copy and pasted without quotation marks. Derambarsh additionally produced falsified versions of the thesis before the Disciplinary Section of the Academic Council. The disciplinary section also found that the jury was illegally composed, because it only included one full professor of law instead of the required 50% of the members minimum. The jury was found also improper in that none of the members, including the thesis advisor, were remotely specialists of the subject of the dissertation. The president of the jury, Frédéric Lefebvre, is a politician from the same party as Derambarsh and was himself caught for plagiarism, for a book published by a publishing house owned by Derambarsh. Bruno Dondero, the thesis advisor at University of Paris 1 Pantheon-Sorbonne after Derambarsh was rejected from University of Paris II Panthéon-Assas, told the disciplinary section that all rules had been followed and that the missing mandatory report on the defense (which legally has to be entered into the academic record for a PhD to be valid) was in a computer that had been stolen.[8][9] Derambarsh's PhD was consequently declared void and he was banned for life from registering in any French public university.[10] His appeal of that decision was subsequently rejected and it is now final.[11]
As a consequence of the cancellation of the PhD which allowed him to join the bar, the Paris bar has expelled him. He has appealed that decision and can keep working as a lawyer while the appeal is being considered. The university has referred the plagiarism case to the prosecutor office, which has opened a preliminary inquiry for forgery.[12]
In its ruling of 14 December 2023, the Paris Court of Appeal upheld Arash Derambarsh's disbarment from the Paris Bar.[13] He announced that he would appeal to the Court of Cassation.[14] As the appeal does not have suspensive effect, the Court of Appeal's decision applies immediately.
Fighting against food waste
editAfter being informed of the huge pile of food expired and dumped in the cities by supermarkets and people, he tried to give the food that is still usable to the poor. Derambarsh successfully gathered 210,000 signatures, with the help of his group, to bring a bill to the parliament. Eventually a bill was passed, requiring supermarkets that are larger than 400 square meters to give usable expired food to the poor or a fertilizer company for animal food instead of dumping it.[15][16][17] Schools are also required to train children to consume food in the right way.[18] For his work against food waste he was awarded the WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award and SEK 1 million in 2019.[19] His debut book, Manifeste contre le gaspillage alimentaire is the story of a parliament representative who tries to keep large supermarkets from dumping their usable expired food. He won the Edgar-Faure award for the best political book of the year.[20] He was named as one of the one top hundred thinkers of the world in 2016 by Foreign Policy.[21] He wrote the book Tomber 9 fois, se relever 10 - Échec scolaire, ne jamais lâcher in 2019.[22][23]
However, Arash Derambarsh's actual contribution to the French legislation on food waste has been repeatedly challenged: in April 2016, Libération republished a long article from Les Inrockuptibles insisting that Arash Derambarsh and the buzz around his action was just "a fraud" ("une imposture").[24] In July 2017, Arash Derambarsh consequently sued Laurent Joffrin, Libération's chief editor; however, on November 30, 2018, the complaint against Laurent Joffrin was discharged as Arash Derambash's lawsuit was considered to be null and void.[25] The then Minister for the Food Industry, Guillaume Garot, had previously expressed his concern about Derambarsh's "unquenchable thirst for recognition by the media",[26] as well as the concern of some associations about the dangers entailed by Derambarsh's "superficial" proposals.[27]
Awards
editIn 2019, Derambarsh was the winner of WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award[28][29] (the world's leading sustainability award to recognize and support outstanding contributions[weasel words] from around the world since 2000).[30]
References
edit- ^ "موفقيت يک فرانسوی ايرانی تباردر فرانسه". Voice of America. 3 January 2008. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Arash Derambarsh -". SAVE FOOD. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "French councillor now wants Europe to ban food waste in supermarkets". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 June 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
- ^ "Arash Derambarsh, premier président de Facebook". 2 January 2008.
- ^ "Les mille et une vies d'Arash Derambarsh - les Inrocks".
- ^ "L'Annulation d'une thèse pour plagiat déstabilise l'université Paris-I - Panthéon-Sorbonne". Le Monde.fr. 27 July 2020.
- ^ "L'Annulation d'une thèse pour plagiat déstabilise l'université Paris-I - Panthéon-Sorbonne". Le Monde.fr. 27 July 2020.
- ^ "Courbevoie : Arash Derambarsh accusé de plagiat sur Twitter". 10 February 2020.
- ^ "Paris-1-Panthéon-Sorbonne accusée de couvrir une thèse de complaisance". 11 February 2020.
- ^ "La Sorbonne annule le diplôme de docteur en droit de l'élu et avocat Arash Derambarsh".
- ^ "Arash Derambarsh perd une bataille devant le Conseil national de l'enseignement supérieur". 16 December 2020.
- ^ "Thèse plagiée : Arash Derambarsh radié du barreau". Le Monde.fr. 27 April 2021.
- ^ https://www.dalloz-actualite.fr/sites/dalloz-actualite.fr/files/resources/2023/12/documents_scannes.pdf
- ^ https://www.lemonde.fr/societe/article/2023/12/14/l-avocat-arash-derambarsh-radie-en-appel-de-l-ordre_6205863_3224.html#
- ^ "French supermarkets banned from throwing away and spoiling unsold food". The Independent. 7 February 2016. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Man who forced French supermarkets to donate food wants to take law global". The Guardian. 25 May 2015. Archived from the original on 15 July 2023.
- ^ The man who made France change its food waste law is setting his sights on Europe
- ^ Arash Derambarsh Frenchman Battle Supermarket Waste
- ^ "WINWIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award". Win Win. Retrieved 28 May 2019.
- ^ "Arash Derambarsh lauréat du prix Edgar Faure du meilleur livre politique". L'Express. 24 November 2015. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Global Thinkers 2016 | The Stewards Arash Derambarsh Councilman, Courbevoie/France". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
- ^ "Tomber 9 fois, se relever 10 - Échec scolaire, ne jamais lâcher". lisez.
- ^ "Portrait : Arash Derambarsh, La Valeur De L'Échec". Forbes. 21 February 2019.
- ^ L'imposture Arash Derambarsh décryptée par « Les Inrocks », Libération
- ^ Droit de réponse de Laurent Joffrin , Valeurs actuelles
- ^ Les mille et une vies d'Arash Derambarsh, Les Inrockuptibles
- ^ Pourquoi nous ne signerons pas la pétition de M. Arash Derambarsh, Les Gars'Pilleurs
- ^ "Award Ceremony". WIN WIN GOTHENBURG SUSTAINABILITY AWARD. Archived from the original on 21 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
- ^ "Winner of 2019 WIN WIN Gothenburg Sustainability Award appointed". www.ap2.se. 28 May 2019. Archived from the original on 30 October 2019. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
- ^ "About". Win Win. Retrieved 30 October 2019.