The Hindu : Juppe move draws flak

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Feb 05, 2004

International

International

Juppe move draws flak

By Vaiju Naravane

PARIS, FEB. 4. The decision by Alain Juppe, former French Prime Minister and leader of President Jacques Chirac's ruling conservative Party, the UMP, to appeal a guilty verdict in a high profile corruption case has been sharply criticised by the press and the opposition in France.

On prime time television yesterday, Mr. Juppe said he would appeal the court's verdict that gave him an 18-month suspended sentence and barred him from public office for ten years.

Workers of Mr. Chirac's party were given jobs in the municipality while they continued with their political activities, while the municipal council paid for their fictitious jobs.

The ruling, which, if unchallenged, would oblige Mr Juppe to resign his current elected positions as Mayor of Bordeaux, MP and the president of the UMP, was described as "grossly unjust" by his party members.

The Prime Minister, Jean Pierre Raffarin, said it was "provisional" while Mr. Chirac urged him to appeal.

The media has, however, expressed surprise at the ease with which the ruling majority has trashed the judgment as "biased."

The independent daily Le Monde described the reaction among Mr. Juppe's supporters as "unbelievable."

"The Prime Minister, Jean-Pierre Raffarin," the paper said, "set the tone by speaking of his `surprise' at the court's judgment."

And Mr. Chirac did not hesitate to publicly praise his close personal friend and former Prime Minister. Is France going the Berlusconi way, asks Le Monde, referring to Italy's Prime Minister who does not hesitate to publicly villify the country's magistrates when they hand down judgments that go against him.

"This hypocrisy and rank opportunism disgusts me, and I am a right wing voter, mind you, " said teacher Laurence Dupre. "The fact that Mr Juppe is an able man and that he is personally honest is not the point. The question is that as financial director of the municipality, he knew of and condoned fictitious jobs for party workers funded by the municipal budget. The law should be the same for everyone. He should not be exonerated just because he is powerful," she said.

Political observers feel a reversal of the sentence by the appeals court would encourage extremists of both the left and the right in next month's regional elections.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News Update

Stories in this Section

Kerry wins five more States, Lieberman bows out of race

Offices in U.S. Capitol shut in ricin scare

Collective effort must for peace: Chandrika

Juppe move draws flak

E.U. gears to fight spamming

A.Q. Khan has sought clemency for illegal transfer of nuclear-technology, says Pakistan

Kashmiri groups to meet in London

Musharraf for `general cessation of violence' in Kashmir