Two a penny

.Gilles Simon has become the second consecutive Frenchman to win the Bangkok Open title as he defeated Serb Viktor Troicki 7-5, 6-3 in the final.
Simon followed on from good friend and beaten Bangkok semi-finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 2008 champion.
“I had a difficult match but I found a way to win.
It was Simon’s sixth career title. I really enjoyed myself today,” said world number 10 Simon, who is in the chase for one of the eight spots in November’s ATP World Tour Finals in London. “I had to fight for this win over Viktor.
“I’ve been feeling good and playing well all week,” said Simon, aged 24 and 6-2 in finals.”
The 23-year-old Troicki, ranked 32nd and now winless in two finals, said he was out-played in the 75-minute contest. But I’ve still had a good week.
“Gilles played great and never gave me many chance. Those are the kinds of wins that I need to build confidence.”
“My highlight was beating Tsonga in the semis, he’s a top-ten player.
Simon got a break back after losing his serve in the ninth game of the opening set before finishing with a second straight break of the Serb. Still, I’m very pleased to have reached the final,” said the fourth seed.
In the second set, the Frenchman lifted his game, taking the title on his second match point. . I’ve worked hard in the last few months, especially with my knee injury.
“It was prefect for me this week.”
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. It was tough to get ready for this event but I played really well

.Frenchman Gael Monfils has punished Martin Vassallo Arguello with 14 break points en route to a 6-4, 6-2 victory at the Malaysia Open, setting up a quarter-final with top seed Nikolay Davydenko.
The Argentine challenger managed to hold off ten of the Monfils opportunities but still went down in just over 90 minutes as the Frenchman earned his 30th victory this season.
The 23-year-old number 13, now 3-0 over Vassallo Arguello, stands 2-1 to the good against Davydenko, with their last meeting in 2007.
Monfils, who only arrived at the last minute after winning the Metz title at the weekend in France and then battling travel setbacks to finally reach Asia, has been dealing with jet-lag as he makes his start in Kuala Lumpur. .
Czech sixth seed Tomas Berdych also reached the last eight, but had to go the distance to overcome German Simon Greul 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 at the Putra stadium. “I hope I can bring this level or even better in the next round.
“I think I played better today than in the first round,” said the number 16 who holds the Munich title on clay.”
Berdych will face his next test against Sweden’s Roland Garros finalist Robin Soderling, the third seed.
“It’s important to keep the consistency in the first matches of the tournament. “I’ll look for chances to break his serve.
“I’ll try to play my best tennis and serve well,” said the Czech, who turned 24 a fortnight ago.
“Soderling’s a very good player, especially indoors, so I’ll have to play my best.”
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&raquo Special Report on France&#039s trial of the decade
&raquo Who&#039s who in the trial
&raquo How a finance trial turned into a major political scandal
&raquo A glossary of terms in the Clearstream saga
&raquo From Ben Barka to Elf, justice turns a blind eye to political elites
Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin appears in court on Wednesday to testify on his role in the Clearstream scandal.

I am happy to bring my contribution to the emergence of truth in a case where lies and manipulation have clouded the truth, Villepin told reporters before entering the courtroom. Sarkozy’s name was added to a forged list of people allegedly holding secret bank accounts at Luxembourg-based clearing house, Clearstream .

De Villepin faces charges charge of trying to undermine Nicolas Sarkozy’s campaign to win the presidency in 2007 by implicating him in a corruption scandal.

The crux of his innocence or guilt depends on whether he knew about the forgery, and whether he in fact gave the order to commit the forgery.

The former prime minister, whose testimony is the lynchpin in the whole case, had struck a defiant note on the first day of the trial, saying: I will emerge from this free and with my reputation cleared, in the name of the French people. . In a brief interrogation in the court Tuesday he repeated that he never had any idea of, nor held in [his] hands, any falsified lists. He will most likely get a ban on holding office, which would be a major blow since he still had political ambitions.

Bythem Top Story aired on 30 September 2009
According to them Catherine Norris-Trent, who is covering the trial, No one believes de Villepin will be sentenced to prison. Even more important than the verdict, if it can be proved he is lying, his reputation is ruined.

But even if the court did not sentence him at all, says Norris-Trent, the maximum damage has already been done to de Villepin.

The courtroom has already seen much drama . People are saying that is what the prosecution is going for, she said.

Clearstream trial – Nicolas Sarkozy
. Monday proceedings included an uncontrollable screaming match between two key players in the case, Jean-Louis Gergorin (former executive VP of French corporation EADS) and Imad Lahoud, who worked under Gergorin as a mathematician and is accused of having committed the actual forgery

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AFP – French prosecutors said Tuesday they have called for judges to drop corruption charges against former president Jacques Chirac, who is accused of misusing city funds when he was Paris mayor.

A French judge wrapped up a probe in April into allegations that municipal funds were used to give fake ghost jobs to members of Chirac’s RPR party while he was mayor of the capital from 1977 to 1995, officials said.

The now 77-year-old Chirac was charged in November 2007 in the case along with five former city hall chiefs of staff and a dozen other people, becoming the first former French president to be put under judicial investigation.

Judge Xaviere Simeoni now has until the end of October to decide whether to send the case to trial.

But the Paris prosecutor’s office said Tuesday it has called for the case to be thrown out, arguing there was insufficient evidence of misuse of funds after 1992, and that the statute of limitations had expired for prior events.

Chirac stood down as mayor of Paris in 1995 when he became president. . He lost his presidential immunity from prosecution after President Nicolas Sarkozy’s election in May 2007.

corruption – France – Jacques Chirac
.

Former aides to Chirac have defended him against allegations that he presided over a system of illegal money-raising for his party, the Rally for the Republic (RPR)

.Fifth seed Gael Monfils and fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet have both overcome jetlag to bolt into the second round of the Malaysian Open.
Monfils, trying to back up the title he won last weekend in Metz, France before boarding a flight to Kuala Lumpur, dispatched Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-2).
The unseeded Gasquet was relentless against Romanian Victor Crivoi 6-1, 6-2.
Gasquet said he had to fight through his fatigue after the flight from Europe.
The number 47 moved into a struggle for the quarter-finals when he plays in the second round against Joacham Johansson after the Swede upset eighth seed Lleyton Hewitt.
“I haven’t adapted to the time change, but I hope tonight I can sleep better. “I played a good match despite waking up at 2:00 am (local time). .
Monfils, 23, fired nine aces in his victory over Istomin, breaking three times while losing his own serve in equal measure.
The French seed, ranked 13th, improved to 29-13 on the season as he next faces Argentine Martin Vassello Arguello.
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.Swimmer Ian Thorpe has dropped a defamation case against a French newspaper that claimed he was a drug cheat.
Thorpe was suing the daily sports paper L’Equipe, its publisher, and journalist Damien Ressiot over an article published in March 2007.
The paper claimed Thorpe gave a urine sample in May 2006 which showed abnormal levels of testosterone and a luteinising hormone.
The Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority and world swimming body FINA later found there was no evidence to support claims Thorpe had used performance enhancing drugs. .
– ABC/AAP

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AFP – French Prime Minister Francois Fillon confirmed in an interview to be published on Sunday that Pierre Gadonneix will be replaced as chairman of energy giant EDF, but he did not name his successor.

We have deemed it necessary to renew the company’s management, though I must pay homage to Pierre Gadonneix, who accompanied EDF’s smooth and successful transformation, Fillon told the Journal du Dimanche newspaper.

French financial daily Les Echos has reported that Veolia Environment president Henri Proglio will take over as EDF chairman.

We have defined the ideal profile and the choice would not be a political one, he said.

The French state owns 85 percent of EDF, which operates France’s 58 nuclear reactors, the world’s biggest network of atomic power plants.

Proglio, 60, is backed by the French presidency to replace Gadonneix, who has been EDF chief since 2004, the newspaper said, citing sources close to the situation.

.
The Clearstream trial that is now under way in the French courts has again shed light on France political rivalries, state secrets and the sometimes shadowy links between the French state and its captains of industry. In this latest affair, which some media pundits are calling Watergate &agrave la Fran&ccedilaise, former Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin is accused of falsely accusing President Nicolas Sarkozy of receiving kickbacks in connection with the 1991 sale of Taiwanese frigates when the two were political adversaries fighting for control of their party ahead of the 2007 presidential election.

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font-size:10. French politicians convicted of wrongdoing have in the past been treated with leniency, says a September 20 piece in The New York Times by Matthew Saltmarsh. But he may have little to fear.

Saltmarsh may have a point.

The Ben Barka affair: France and Morocco in troubled waters

Moroccan opposition leader Mehdi Ben Barka in 1959.

Of the many high-profile scandals that have plagued the French political elite in past decades, very few high officials have been severely sanctioned &ndash while their less-visible associates sometimes get a raw deal. His supporters never heard from him again.Moroccan opposition leader Mehdi Ben Barka, who sought exile in France after having been condemned to death in his home country, was kidnapped in Paris on October 29, 1965 by two French policemen. But as for determining any French complicity in the affair, the investigation fell short: the examining magistrates ran into resistance citing security issues and reasons of state.

The French-led investigation shed the spotlight on various Moroccan protagonists, in particular on a General Oufkir, a loyal servant of King Hassan II.

Finally, on June 7, 1967, one of the French officers who took part in the Ben Barka kidnapping was sentenced to six years in prison another member of the counter-intelligence services was sentenced to eight years.

Finally, on June 7, 1967, one of the French officers who took part in the Ben Barka kidnapping was sentenced to six years in prison another member of the counter-intelligence services was sentenced to eight years. To date, no member of the French government or top official has been investigated in the affair. Documents from French counter-intelligence and the US Central Intelligence Agency, as well as the testimony of a former member of the French secret service decommissioned in 2000, cited the involvement of both the prime minister and the French president offices, partially lifting the veil on the dubious links between the Moroccan royal family and the French state. In the process, Eva Joly, the judge in charge of the inquiry, uncovered a vast network of corruption, implicating politicians as well as the heads of major corporations.

The Elf scandal, a financial imbroglio

Roland Dumas and Judge Eva JolyA legal inquiry was launched in 1994 involving the alleged cash injections into a struggling textile branch of the Elf oil giant. Joly, however, focused on evidence of the clandestine financing of political parties in France and abroad and the hundreds of millions of euros that were paid as bribes and kickbacks to politicians, businessmen and intermediaries.

The ramifications of this network and its financial interlinks were extremely complex. The case against Strauss-Kahn was dismissed, but Dumas was sentenced to serve six months in prison as well as given a two-year suspended sentence.

Investigations were launched into the possible roles played by Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a former minister of industry, and Roland Dumas (main photo above), former foreign affairs minister and president of France Constitutional council.

Taiwanese frigates &ndash and policy, murder, corruption

Renaud Van Ruymbeke was charged with investigating the Taiwanese frigate affair in 2001.

Meanwhile, Dumas&rsquo former mistress, Christine Deviers-Joncour, along with Elf CEO Loik le Floch-Prigent and the firm director-general, Alfred Sirven, were all handed heavy fines and served time in prison.4 billion.4 billion.

What follows is like something out of a James Bond film, involving secrets of state, diplomatic affairs, corruption and even murder &ndash 10 people involved with the frigate sale in one form or another disappeared mysteriously.

Judge Renaud Van Ruymbeke, charged with the investigation, managed to gather evidence against several key players in a web of corruption in Taiwan as well as China. But in France, all attempts to find out who received commissions from the sale were derailed for reasons of national security. All demands for the declassification of documents were in vain, as three successive economic ministers, Laurent Fabius, Francis Mer and Thierry Breton, were opposed to their release.

In 2006, former defence minister Alain Richard accused former President Fran&ccedilois Mitterand and his prime minister (1993-1995), Edouard Balladur, of involvement.

The case was dismissed in its entirety in 2008.

Angolagate: the ripe markets of a civil war

Charles Pasqua on his arrival at court in October 2008.Of all the legal and political scandals of recent years, that involving the sale of weapons to Angola &ndash still under judicial review &ndash holds a special significance.

During the 1990s, significant arms traffic was funnelled to Angola, a country in the grip of a bloody civil war. Some 40 people were accused of participation in a trafficking ring worth an estimated &euro790 million or to have taken bribes from those involved. Charles Pasqua, a former minister of the interior who was at the same time fending off accusations in connection with six other legal cases, and Jean-Charles Marchiani, a regional official, found themselves among the accused. The civil judges in the case have recommended a three-year suspended sentence for Pasqua and 18 months for Marchiani. A judgment will be rendered on October 27.

Angolagate – business – Clearstream – Dominique de Villepin – French politics – justice – Nicolas Sarkozy – scandal

.
France ministry of foreign affairs stated Wednesday that it will not accept that the situation regarding Clotilde Reiss, a young French researcher who was arrested in Tehran amid a crackdown on streets protests following the disputed June 12 presidential poll, is analogous to that of Iranians detained in France for whom Tehran has demanded amnesty.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to appear on French television to give his reactions to demands made by his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that some form of prisoner exchange be discussed.

According to several sources, the Iranian detainees in question could include Ali Vakili Rad, sentenced in 1991 for the assassination of former Iranian PM Chapour Bakhtiar, and Majid Kakavand, arrested on the behest of the US, because he bought suspicious materials over the Internet &ndash and for whom the US has requested extradition. .

Asked about Iran request, foreign ministry deputy spokesperson Christine Fages said, You cannot compare Clothilde Reiss&rsquo situation with those to whom you are referring.

Clotilde Reiss trial – Mahmoud Ahmadinejad – Nicolas Sarkozy

.The Renault team has been given a two-year suspended ban from the Formula One world championship after admitting to race-fixing.
The French car manufacturer, appearing before an FIA World Motor Sport Council hearing in Paris, had said it would not contest accusations the team ordered Brazilian Nelson Piquet to crash his car into a wall at last year’s Singapore Grand Prix so that Spanish team-mate Fernando Alonso might win.
The suspended ban will last until the end of the 2011 season.
“The ING Renault F1 team admitted that the team had conspired with its driver Nelson Piquet Jr to cause a deliberate crash at the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix, in breach of the International Sporting Code and F1 Sporting Regulations’” the governing International Automobile Federation (FIA) said overnight.
“Renault F1′s breaches not only compromised the integrity of the sport but also endangered the lives of spectators, officials, other competitors and Nelson Piquet Jr himself.
“The World Motor Sport Council considers Renault F1′s breach relating to the 2008 Singapore Grand Prix to be of unparalleled severity,” the statement added. .”
Former team boss Flavio Briatore was also banned from any further involvement in Formula One, including driver management.
“Mr Alonso was not in any way involved in Renault F1′s breach of the regulations,” the FIA said.
Double world champion Fernando Alonso was exonerated of any involvement at the hearing.
FIA president Max Mosley told reporters after the hearing that the team would remain in Formula One, but Renault F1 chairman Bernard Rey did not comment. Piquet Jr had been granted immunity by the FIA before the hearing.
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