International   

Villepin faces slander probe

PARIS: The former French Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, is in the news as he battles claims he crafted an elaborate smear campaign to try to throw rival Nicolas Sarkozy off his course to the presidency. Investigating judges filed preliminary charges against Mr. Villepin on Friday.

Mr. Villepin, who left the premiership in May when Mr. Sarkozy took over France’s highest office, swears he committed no wrongdoing.

But the case has cast a shadow over the reputation of the silver-haired diplomat, whose big moment of international fame came when he used the U.N. Security Council in 2003 to urge the United States not to invade Iraq.

The case against him — which has all the elements of a political thriller, from bizarre plot twists to allegations of secret bank accounts to a spy’s deleted notes — stems from an alleged attempt in 2003-2004 to discredit Mr. Sarkozy, a Minister at the time and a rival of Mr. Villepin’s within their conservative UMP party.

Mr. Sarkozy had never made a secret of his presidential ambitions. Mr. Villepin (53) was also once widely seen as a possible candidate, before his popularity plunged during strikes and protests over a labour law for which he pushed last year.

Mr. Villepin vowed to fight his case. “At no moment did I take part in any political manoeuvring,” he said. — AP

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

Stories in this Section

Suicide attack as Lal Masjid reopens
Sri Lanka in ARF
Villepin faces slander probe
The “shame” of being a suicide bomber’s wife
Gorbachev blasts U.S.
Monsoon havoc in Nepal
‘Meet will have far-reaching consequences’
Rising heights
U.S. can seek return of nuclear technology, says Nicholas Burns

Copyright © 2007, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu