Two a penny

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Freelance journalist Denis Robert is in the witness box Tuesday at the Paris Criminal Court in a trial that has rocked the French political world to its core.

Robert will be questioned on the Clearstream files that came into his possession in 2001, before they were faked to include names of high-profile figures in French politics, including current French President Nicolas Sarkozy , who were accused of taking illegal kickbacks from the sale of French frigates to Taiwan in 1991.

&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
Robert is accused of having handled stolen information and breach of trust.

Bourges was part of an audit mission looking into the accounts at Clearstream just after Robert had investigated the company for possible money laundering.

Also giving evidence is a former intern at accounting firm Arthur Andersen Florian Bourges , who is accused of stealing the offending list from Clearstream and passing it on to Robert. He was told to keep it to himself.

During the audit Bourget noticed certain anomalies, specifically relating to accounts dated 2016 alongside names of non-existent clients.

At the end of the audit, Bourges kept copies of accounts he had seen, including a list of more than 33,000 accounts which he passed on to Robert.

De Villepin is accused of conspiring to include Sarkozy on the Clearstream list when the two men were vying for their party’s nomination to succeed then-President Jacques Chirac.

The case has exposed bitter acrimony between Dominique de Villepin , a former French prime minister, and current French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

As the trial began on Monday, de Villepin, flanked by his wife and children, insisted that the case was being propelled by Sarkozy’s personal animosity towards him.

Case being ‘propelled by Sarkozy’

De Villepin, who vigorously denies the allegations, faces up to five years in jail and a &euro45,000 fine if convicted. I am here because of the dogged determination of one man, Nicolas Sarkozy.

I am here because of one man’s will, he said upon arriving at court.

I will come out of this a free man and exonerated, he told reporters.

I will come out of this a free man and exonerated, he told reporters.

De Villepin’s lawyer, Henri Leclerc, has asked that the court strip Sarkozy of his status as a civil plaintiff, arguing that his client cannot get a fair trial against a sitting head of state.

President of the Republic as civil plaintiff

Lawyers for both sides are facing off over whether Sarkozy’s involvement in the case is allowed under the French constitution.

But Sarkozy’s lawyer, Thierry Herzog, argues that the president is a civil party like any other.

We want to be tried according to fair procedures, Leclerc said on Monday.

Sarkozy insists he only wants the truth to come out.

Sarkozy registered as a plaintiff in 2006 to gain access to the case files and secure his right to seek damages, as have 39 others including Dominique Strauss-Kahn , now the head of the International Monetary Fund. It is high time that we get rid of all of these political manoeuvrings, once and for all. .

Clearstream trial – Dominique de Villepin – France – Nicolas Sarkozy

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AFP – France will invest more than seven billion euros (10 billion dollars) to develop freight transport by rail and reduce road traffic, Ecology Minister Jean-Louis Borloo said Wednesday.

At the crossroads between northern and southern Europe, France plans to nearly double freight transport by 2022, in particular through a system of rail highways for truck-carrying trains.

It is indispensable that we increase the share of rail freight against air and road transport, Borloo told a news conference where he unveiled the plan.

Aside from expanding the rail network, a new port freight service will be set up in Le Havre and La Rochelle. .

Last week, Sarkozy announced a new carbon tax on businesses and individuals that will come into force in 2010 to encourage consumers to cut down their use of oil, gas and coal.

The scheme is part of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s ‘green plan’ for France that aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming.

environment – Jean-Louis Borloo – transport

.French police have released all 11 people arrested two days ago over death threats and bullets sent to President Nicolas Sarkozy and other politicians, a judicial source said. .
Since then, similar letters have sporadically appeared in mail rooms at politicians’ offices.
A first batch of brown envelopes containing 9mm cartridges and letters with threats like “You are all dead men walking” was sent to Mr Sarkozy, two ministers, the mayor of Bordeaux and other centre-right politicians in March.
The letters were signed by an unknown group calling itself “Fighters from Cell 34″. The latest, meant for Mr Sarkozy, was intercepted by postal services in Montpellier, south-west France, in August.
The judicial source said one was a well-known local political activist who had campaigned against plans to erect wind turbines close to a small town.
The 11 people arrested on Thursday (local time) were shopkeepers, former soldiers and members of a shooting club who all live in villages close to Montpellier.
However, a police source said searches at the suspects’ homes had not yielded convincing evidence. The mayor of the town was one of those who received letters. The man was briefly detained and released without charge.
Police had arrested a man in March on suspicion of sending the letters after he was denounced by his wife.
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.French authorities have intercepted a threatening letter containing a large calibre hunting bullet addressed to President Nicolas Sarkozy, officials said Wednesday.
The threat appears to be the latest in a series of such warnings sent to right-wing personalities in recent years, apparently by a lone left-wing extremist or a group, according to investigators.
A man from the southern city of Montpellier was arrested last year after a series of letters signed by an unknown group – The Combatants of Cell 34 – were sent to Mr Sarkozy and several of his political allies.
In the letter, the author warns what he calls the “old guard” in Mr Sarkozy’s ruling UMP party that an “accident” might befall them.
The writer or writers have demanded a halt to France’s expulsion of illegal immigrants and the release from prison of Jean-Marc Rouillan, the leader of the armed leftist group Action Directe, among others. .
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AFP – French lawmakers on Tuesday opened debate on a bill allowing more Sunday trading, a measure championed by President Nicolas Sarkozy but fiercely contested within his right-wing party.

The proposed legislation is a watered-down version of a bill that was pulled from parliament in December, dealing a major setback to Sarkozy who had promised to allow Sunday selling during his election campaign.

The bill would set up special tourist areas and commercial zones where shops could open on Sundays.

Supporters say it will affect mostly retailers in Paris and France’s second city of Marseille, where many big-chain stores openly defy the current laws and pay hefty fines for opening their doors on Sundays. Employees would be paid double for working on that day.

Darcos said 500 tourist towns, 30 commercial zones and cities with more than one million residents would be concerned by the measures, which have come up against opposition from the church and unions.

It’s time to put an end to the jungle that exists today, Labour Minister Xavier Darcos told RTL radio.

French laws on Sunday commerce are far more restrictive than those in the United States and Britain but less so than in Germany, where special permission is needed for shops to open in Berlin.

Recent polls show that while the French believe shops should have the freedom to open on Sundays they also are opposed to extending work on Sundays.

In France, no Sunday trading has been a rule since a 1906 law consecrated the day of rest, although bakeries, butchers and other small shops are allowed to open until noon.

Richard Mallie, a deputy from Sarkozy’s right-wing party and one of the authors of the bill, has said 15,000 jobs could be saved by allowing more shops to open on Sundays.

The government has argued that allowing more Sunday trading would help cushion the blow that the recession has dealt to the job market. .

A vote on the bill was expected on Friday or Saturday

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The domestic row over French President Nicolas Sarkozy alleged remarks about the Spanish prime minister showed no signs of abating, with Socialist politician S&eacutegol&egravene Royal apologizing for her political foe apparent gaff to Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Zapatero.

In an interview with the French daily, Le Parisien on Tuesday, Royal confirmed that she apologized to the Spanish leader for Sarkozy failure to control his language and behaviour and said it was an assault not only on foreign figures, but also on the French people.

Today, when one reads the international press, it a shame to be French, Royal also said in an interview with the French TV station France 2 on Monday evening.

Sarkozy offending comments grabbed headlines across the country when the French daily, Liberation reported that Sarkozy criticized his Spanish counterpart at a dinner with lawmakers at the Elysee Palace last week during which he said that Zapatero was not very smart. .

Socialist Party leader Martine Aubry has been noticeably silent on the issue, exposing the rifts between the two women since last December acrimonious power struggle for the opposition party top spot.

The political spat over Royal apology to Zapatero has exposed frissons not only between Sarkozy and the candidate he defeated in the 2007 presidential elections, but also within the Socialist Party itself.

This is not the first time Royal has apologized for Sarkozy comments.

From the &lsquoSarkozy school&rsquo

Noting Royal recent fall in the opinion polls, Ga&eumll Siman of the BVA Institute, a French polling group, said Aubry’s silence underlines a bare minimum support by Socialist Party leaders: One gets the impression that the Socialist Party leaders do not see Royal as a rival any more, Siman told the AFP. On a visit to Senegal earlier this year, Royal apologized to Africans for a 2007 speech by Sarkozy suggesting Africa was backward. Her goal could be to place herself as the principal opponent to Sarkozy.

There is little doubt that Royal has a political survival strategy. She has to continue to make her political mark right up to 2011, when the Socialist Party chooses its presidential candidate. She is no more a regional representative who lost the party leadership, Mariette Sineau, research director of the Paris-based National Centre for Scientific Research, told them. To survive on the political scene for two years is a long haul if you don&rsquot have a strategic political position. To survive on the political scene for two years is a long haul if you don&rsquot have a strategic political position.There is however a difference in scale: he did succeed in taking charge of the UMP. When Sarkozy was a minister under [former French President] Jacques Chirac, he did not hesitate to have a dig at the presidential role. If she does not raise her profile, she will not be noticed, he said.

In politically tricky territory

But is the strategy paying off? Jean-Louis Bianco, a close Royal ally, believes it is working.

In France though, one does not criticize the president of the Republic with impunity. The hysterical reactions from the UMP show that she has put her finger onto something. It can be shocking for some French people for whom the presidential role is sacred, said Sineau. By publicly targeting Sarkozy style on the hallowed ground of international relations, Royal is in tricky territory.

French politics – José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero – Nicolas Sarkozy – Ségolène Royal – Socialist Party – UMP
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Whether this strategy will work, only future opinion polls will show

.Rock star Lenny Kravitz has received fan mail from the “bling bling” president himself – France’s Nicolas Sarkozy, dubbed thus for his fondness for fashion and the high life.
Kravitz, in Paris to promote the 20th anniversary of his debut album Let Love Rule, says Mr Sarkozy had sent him a note which impressed him by singling out specific songs.
“Wow, I was like, ‘You listened to the record!’”
Kravitz kicks off his European tour on April 17 with a concert in Caen, in the north of France. .
But when pressed on how he knew the ex-model and socialite, Kravitz only smiled and repeated: “I know Carla from back in the day.
He added that he and Mr Sarkozy’s wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, were long-time acquaintances.”
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AFP – France is prepared to walk away from the G20 summit if it fails to secure agreement on issues it wants, Finance Minister Christine Lagarde told BBC television in comments released Tuesday.

President Sarkozy was very clear on that front, he said if the deliverables are not there, I won’t sign the communique, Lagarde, who spoke in English, told the BBC. . It means walking away.

On a visit to the central French town of Chatelleraut to promote plans for economic recovery, Sarkozy said there was no choice but for the summit to get results.

Her comments suggest France is trying to raise the stakes ahead of Thursday’s G20 summit on the world economic crisis in a bid to secure agreement on tougher regulation of the financial sector.

Earlier, French officials had said US President Barack Obama had yet to be convinced by calls for international regulation.

The crisis is too serious for us to hold a summit for nothing, he added.

Amid fears the London summit will be split over how to deal with the crisis, French officials have stepped up the pressure, warning Sarkozy would rather air the issues through a public dispute than accept a vague consensus.

While the US favours fiscal stimulus to tackle the effects of the credit crunch, European nations led by France and Germany are sceptical of such an approach, favouring tighter regulation of financial bodies like hedge funds and other measures including a crackdown on tax havens. That’s the real risk, a French presidential source told reporters on Monday.

The risk is not of a failure, but of a false success — a deal on phrases that sound good, but commit us to nothing.

If there’s no progress in London, there’ll be an empty chair.

According to Le Figaro, a right-wing daily with close contacts in Sarkozy’s entourage, the president himself expressed views similar to Lagarde’s comments earlier this month.

financial crisis – G20 – Nicolas Sarkozy
. I’ll get up and leave, Sarkozy said on the sidelines of a March 18 cabinet meeting, the paper’s front page report said Tuesday

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AFP – President Nicolas Sarkozy on Tuesday won a vote of confidence over his decision to bring France back into NATO’s military command, four decades after it pulled out in protest over US dominance.

In 1966, in the midst of East-West tensions, our withdrawal from the organisation was a shock, Prime Minister Francois Fillon told the national assembly earlier in a pre-debate vote.

Four former French prime ministers earlier came out against the move but Sarkozy’s large parliamentary majority always meant the challenge was unlikely to succeed..

But in 2009 our return is simply an adjustment which. causes no emotion on the international stage, he said, adding that France was an ally but not a vassal of the United States..

De Gaulle’s move forced the alliance to shift from its Paris headquarters and led to US troops leaving French territory.

Sarkozy announced last week that France would return to the alliance’s command, reversing then president Charles de Gaulle’s decision to walk out in protest over perceived US domination of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

The move to reintegrate France was widely viewed as one of Sarkozy’s most important foreign policy changes.

The founding aim of NATO, whose members now include countries as far apart as Turkey, Poland and Canada, was to set up a counterweight to Soviet armies based in eastern Europe since the end of World War II.

Opposition Socialist leader Martine Aubry said earlier Tuesday that nothing today justifies us falling in behind the United States, renouncing our liberty and aligning ourselves with their proposals.

But it has drawn fire from nationalists and from some in his right-wing UMP party who see it as a shift towards a more US-friendly stance.

We will lose the precious privilege of defining case by case the terms of engaging our troops, Jospin told reporters.

Lionel Jospin was one of four former prime ministers to condemn the decision, alongside fellow Socialist Laurent Fabius and the UMP’s Dominique de Villepin and Alain Juppe.

Sarkozy has insisted that France belongs to the Western family and that as a founding member of NATO its interests would be best served as a full member of the top echelon.

But Fillon insisted that France’s nuclear weapons would remain solely under French control and that the country would make its own mind up about where and when it sent its troops.

France would be in a better position to defend European defence as a full player in NATO and would continue to assert its independence, he added.

In a speech to a military academy last week, he argued that France’s position outside the command structure had made allies distrustful of its drive to strengthen European defence, and that they saw it as a ploy to weaken NATO.

France’s return to the integrated command is expected to become official at the April 3-4 NATO summit in the eastern French city of Strasbourg and at Kehl across the border in Germany.

Sarkozy’s party holds a majority of 317 seats in the 577-member National Assembly.

France – François Fillon – French politics – NATO
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France – François Fillon – French politics – NATO

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AFP – French police on Wednesday arrested a man suspected of sending death threats to President Nicolas Sarkozy and several politicians in letters stuffed with bullets, officials said.

A 47-year-old computer expert and military reservist was picked up at his home in the southern city of Montpellier, a police official said. The man’s former girlfriend had tipped off police on his whereabouts. We are following this lead as well as others.

We do not have confirmation that he is the one, said a source close to the investigation.

Identical copies of the 20-line typed letter were sent to former prime minister Alain Juppe and several members of Sarkozy’s UMP party, including local elected officials.

Threatening letters with pistol bullets were sent this month to Sarkozy, Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, Justice Minister Rachida Dati and Culture Minister Christine Albanel.

Another letter was sent to Nonce Paolini, the head of TF1, France’s number one television station, at his offices outside Paris, and the state broadcaster France Televisions also said it had received a copy.

He said investigators suspected they were dealing with an unhinged individual, as opposed to someone with a political agenda.

An official at the Paris prosecutor’s office earlier told that the letters were all posted from the Montpellier region. .

It’s obviously someone who is a bit unstable, Alliot-Marie told reporters after a cabinet meeting.

The bullets contained in them were either .

One of the letters, seen by AFP, was riddled with spelling mistakes and contained mostly incoherent and offensive language directed at Sarkozy, his ministers and other right-wing or centrist politicians.38 calibre or nine millimetre.38 calibre or nine millimetre.

death – Nicolas Sarkozy – police