Diplomacy: France scrambles to avoid its own WikiLeaks fiasco
France’s foreign ministry is tightening security to avoid further scandal after the Wikileaks revelations. Paris’ ambassador to Tehran stresses that French diplomacy ‘will not change’, nor will the diplomats’ ‘psychological portraits’. Read More
FRANCE: Former PM ‘suspects’ graft in submarine sales scandal
Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin told a court he had “strong suspicions” that French officials received kickbacks from submarines sales, but saw no link in the freeze of kickbacks and a deadly 2002 attack. Read More
FRANCE: Families sue former French president in Pakistan arms scandal
The relatives of 11 French engineers killed in a 2002 bombing in Pakistan will bring charges against former President Jacques Chirac, claiming he ignored risks of reprisals against French personnel by stopping bribe payments to Pakistani officials. Read More
FRANCE: Police search Sarkozy party HQ in L’Oreal investigation
UMP party chief Xavier Bertrand (pictured) says that police searched the party headquarters in Paris on Wednesday as part of their ongoing investigation into the alleged involvement of Labour Minister Eric Woerth in the L’Oreal scandal. Read More
FRANCE: L’Oreal heiress cuts photographer Banier from will
L’Oreal heiress and France’s richest woman, Liliane Bettencourt, has cut her personal friend and celebrity photographer Francois-Marie Banier (photo) out of her will, in the latest chapter of a scandal that has reached to government levels. Read More
FRANCE: Questioned by police, Labour Minister denies wrongdoing
Scandal-plagued French Labour Minister Eric Woerth denied any wrongdoing or conflict of interest when police questioned him for eight hours Thursday in connection with financial scandals surrounding France’s richest woman, his lawyer said. Read More
FRANCE: Scandal-plagued labour minister questioned by police
French Labour Minister Eric Woerth was questioned by police investigating the financial affairs of France’s richest woman, l’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt. Read More
FRANCE: The Bettencourt scandal: Sarkozy and the media face-off
Amid a growing scandal involving Labour Minister Eric Woerth, in which new revelations seemingly appear daily, the French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s already tense relations with the French press are being further strained. Read More
FRANCE: Police detain L’Oreal quartet for second day as scandal rumbles on
Police detained for a second day fund manager Patrice de Maistre (pictured), a lawyer, society photographer Francois-Marie Banier (pictured) and the manager of a private island linked to Liliane Bettencourt, in a scandal that has shocked France. Read More
FRANCE: Police arrest four as L’Oreal scandal escalates
French police have detained a financial advisor, lawyer, society photographer and island manager connected to France’s richest woman and L’Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, in the latest chapter in a scandal that has rocked French politics. Read More