Former Vivendi Universal chairman Jean-Marie Messier fired Pierre Lescure from the helm of Canal Plus in April in what many consided an underhanded manner. Now, however, it seems that Lescure has come out ahead of the erstwhile mogul - at least in terms of his pay-off

In an interview with French financial daily La Tribune on Monday, Lescure said he has so far been paid Euros 2.9m as part of his severance package from Canal. Since being ousted from Vivendi Universal in June, Messier has received no such indemnity. His replacement, Jean-Rene Fourtou even went so far in statements made on September 25 as to say that Messier would never see a penny from the company and would furthermore be asked to return his July salary which was paid to him as an oversight.

For Lescure, the Euros 2.9m represents his monthly salary multiplied by 18, the number of years he was with Canal. However, that figure is the legal minimum and Lescure said he would continue to seek further payment. "I believe that I deserve reparations in terms of how my eviction was handled." Lescure explains that because there is now talk of floating Canal and creating value based on 15 years of performance when he was still at the channel, "myself and a lot of others deserve to be taken into consideration."

He adds, "I have nothing against the idea of arbitrage. If I get nothing by the end of the year I will go to court."