Lance and Oprah in Texas, TWOD in Paris.
On the same evening as Lance Armstrong confessed about his Tour de France doping misery in Oprah Winfrey's studio in Austin, Texas, we screened the the film for French lawyers at the Maison du Barreau in Paris. Article in French A panel discussion was held after the screening. It covered issues from the lawyer perspective as well as from a sports, public health- and general public perspective. The Lance Armstrong case was of course also covered. Producer Bjorn Bertoft had direct phone contact with the doping hunter Professor Arne Ljungqvist (International Olympic Committee IOC and World Anti-Doping Agency WADA) as well as lawyer Huw Roberts (IAAF) during the event for latest insights from the anti-doping movement: Professor Ljungqvist: Professor Ljungqvist was asked whether the anti-doping movement looked upon the Lance Armstrong case as a success or a failure: "Of course this is a little of both in a sense, but mainly this is a success showing that the anti-doping work now is effective not only from a sports and testing perspective, but also from the criminology and intelligence perspective, having these powers working effectively together." Lawyer Huw Roberts: "The key message is a short one but clear. However sophisticated the doping regime, the anti-doping community is now committed to pursue cheaters at all costs (whether pursuing investigations over many years like LA, going back and re-analysing samples from 8 years ago using new techniques or by following suspicious profiles through the Athlete Biological Passport). The cheaters used to be way ahead of the testers. That gap is now closing and fast."
From left: Alexander Schishlik (UNESCO Sector for Social and Human Sciences), Dr. Marie-Carol Paruit (Doctor, Public Hospital of Nantes and President of the regional institute of Sports' Medecine of Pays de Loire), Nathalie Korchia (Lawyer at the Paris Bar association, member of the Human Rights' Training Institute of the Paris Bar Association Center Louis Pettiti (IDHBP), Bjorn Bertoft (Producer The War On Doping), Clémentine Carreau (Lawyer at the Paris Bar Association), Robert Betrand (Secretary General of the French ONAD - AFLD). Behind the camera: Christophe Pettiti (Lawyer at the Paris Bar Association, Secretary General of the Human Rights' Training Institute of the Paris Bar Association - Center Louis Pettiti (IDHBP). The evening event was arranged by Institute de formation en droits de l’homme du Barreau de Paris. Place : House of the Lawyers' Paris Bar Association. Auditorium Louis Edmond Pettiti(President (Bâtonnier) of the Lawyers' Paris Bar Association, judge for France at the European court for Human Rights during 18 years, founder of the IDHBP).
