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French presidential rivals takeskirmish to the courthouse
Source: Agencies |
September 21, 2009, Monday
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TWO men who reached the pinnacle of French politics stand at the heart of a slander trial opening in Paris today.
Nicolas Sarkozy says Dominique de Villepin was involved in a smear campaign known as the Clearstream affair to keep Sarkozy from winning France's top job in 2007 elections.
It's a face-off between a French president and an ex-prime minister.
Sarkozy is a plaintiff in the case, but he won't appear in court because his presidential position means he doesn't have to testify.
Former Prime Minister Villepin will be on the defendants' bench along with four others, accused of perpetuating bogus claims that Sarkozy hid bribe money in a Luxembourg bank.
The rivalry dates back to 2004, when both men - the kinetic, dark-haired Sarkozy and the suave, silver-haired Villepin, both conservatives, both government ministers - were considered leading hopefuls to succeed then-President Jacques Chirac.
It began with a mysterious list claiming to show clients with secret accounts with Luxembourg clearing house Clearstream, including Sarkozy and other leading French political and business figures.
Villepin became aware of the list and asked Defense Ministry intelligence adviser General Philippe Rondot to investigate it. Rondot determined it was a hoax - but the list was already making the rounds among government and judicial officials. For Villepin, the key questions in the trial are how much he knew about the list and when he learned that it was fake.
Villepin says he did nothing wrong. The prosecutor's 225-page indictment says Villepin should have alerted judicial authorities to the scam earlier.
Vitriol has boiled on both sides. Sarkozy reportedly said he wanted Villepin to "hang on a meathook" over his alleged role in the affair. Villepin says Sarkozy is "obsessed" by the case.
Villepin is accused of "complicity to slanderous denunciations" and "complicity in using forgeries" among other charges. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a fine of 375,000 euros (US$550,000).
The key defendant is a former vice president at Airbus parent company EADS, Jean-Louis Gergorin. He is accused of cooking up the scheme and is charged with "slanderous denunciations." He has said he gave the fake list to judicial authorities on orders from Villepin and Chirac.
The other defendants are an accountant accused of stealing Clearstream documents used to make the faked list, Florian Bourges; an investigative journalist accused of giving the Clearstream documents to computer expert Imad Lahoud; and Lahoud, accused of doctoring the documents.
At its core, though, the trial is about "the rivalry between two men," said Dominique Moisi, from the French Institute for International Relations.
"Beyond the details, which are too complex for everyone to understand ... this is a battle of political will between two French politicians. The question is, who is going to win?" he asked.
Nicolas Sarkozy says Dominique de Villepin was involved in a smear campaign known as the Clearstream affair to keep Sarkozy from winning France's top job in 2007 elections.
It's a face-off between a French president and an ex-prime minister.
Sarkozy is a plaintiff in the case, but he won't appear in court because his presidential position means he doesn't have to testify.
Former Prime Minister Villepin will be on the defendants' bench along with four others, accused of perpetuating bogus claims that Sarkozy hid bribe money in a Luxembourg bank.
The rivalry dates back to 2004, when both men - the kinetic, dark-haired Sarkozy and the suave, silver-haired Villepin, both conservatives, both government ministers - were considered leading hopefuls to succeed then-President Jacques Chirac.
It began with a mysterious list claiming to show clients with secret accounts with Luxembourg clearing house Clearstream, including Sarkozy and other leading French political and business figures.
Villepin became aware of the list and asked Defense Ministry intelligence adviser General Philippe Rondot to investigate it. Rondot determined it was a hoax - but the list was already making the rounds among government and judicial officials. For Villepin, the key questions in the trial are how much he knew about the list and when he learned that it was fake.
Villepin says he did nothing wrong. The prosecutor's 225-page indictment says Villepin should have alerted judicial authorities to the scam earlier.
Vitriol has boiled on both sides. Sarkozy reportedly said he wanted Villepin to "hang on a meathook" over his alleged role in the affair. Villepin says Sarkozy is "obsessed" by the case.
Villepin is accused of "complicity to slanderous denunciations" and "complicity in using forgeries" among other charges. If convicted, he could face up to five years in prison and a fine of 375,000 euros (US$550,000).
The key defendant is a former vice president at Airbus parent company EADS, Jean-Louis Gergorin. He is accused of cooking up the scheme and is charged with "slanderous denunciations." He has said he gave the fake list to judicial authorities on orders from Villepin and Chirac.
The other defendants are an accountant accused of stealing Clearstream documents used to make the faked list, Florian Bourges; an investigative journalist accused of giving the Clearstream documents to computer expert Imad Lahoud; and Lahoud, accused of doctoring the documents.
At its core, though, the trial is about "the rivalry between two men," said Dominique Moisi, from the French Institute for International Relations.
"Beyond the details, which are too complex for everyone to understand ... this is a battle of political will between two French politicians. The question is, who is going to win?" he asked.
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