Dominique de Villepin Attacks Sarkozy At Trial

Dominique de Villepin, France's former prime minister, has taken the stand in a trial where he faces charges of plotting a smear campaign against Nicolas Sarkozy, the president.

The 55-year-old lashed out at Sarkozy as he entered the Paris courtroom on Monday, saying "I am here because of the dogged determination of one man".

"I will come out of this a free man and exonerated," he said, adding that "I know that truth will prevail".

Villepin is accused of conspiring to slander Sarkozy in 2004, at a time when the two were battling to succeed Jacque Chirac as president.

He faces up to five years in jail and a 45,000 euro ($66,000) fine if convicted of "complicity in slander, complicity in the use of forgeries, dealing in stolen property and breach of trust".

The case centres on a list - later proved to have been fabricated - of account holders at the Clearstream financial clearing house who allegedly received kickbacks from the sale of French frigates to Taiwan.

One name on the bogus list was that of Sarkozy, the then finance and interior minister, who suspects Chirac's chosen heir, Villepin, of using the list to try to torpedoe his bid for presidency.

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Comments

[Blackorpheus]

Here is an instance of "I hate him, but I detest his enemy," and good theater, to boot--after the French fashion. It features:

High-caste, narcissistic Dominique de Villepin, who writes bad poetry, and the part-Jewish semi-dwarf over-achiever Sarkozy, who euchred Villepin (ex-Foreign Minister and President Chirac's fave) out of the Presidency of France.

Tanned and vaguely decadent, Villepin striding into the high court strikes back at Sarkozy's compelled vindictiveness, alluding--or so it seems--to the Jewish Shylock stereotype; while Sarkozy vows to have the guilty "bastard" hung on a butcher's hook.

Grand Guignol stuff and an amusing interregnum--while the globe burns.

[IlooklikeGeorgeWyner]

But, when Villepin refered to it as the "Short" list, that's when Sarkozy really went off the deep-end.

[Tavallai]

I just snorted my cafe creme up.

[MissPreciousPerfect]

French President Nicolas Sarkozy: «Un jour, je finirai par retrouver le salopard qui a monté cette affaire et il finira sur un crochet de boucher. » (rough translation: One of these days I'll find the b@st@rd who did this to me and hang him from a butcher's hook.)

Whoa! And here I was thinking that U.S. politics was taking on frighteningly violent overtones.

[Peabodies]

Was there a mirror in the room?

[Peabodies]

Could be "manufactured news" in the sense that the one who planted the story at hand may not be the obvious one. Something like a double cross.

[blueskybigstar]

Can we get some laws like this and apply them to Fox news?

[mazaza]

The only French law I can think of that could be used against Fox news is "advocacy of racial hatred". And swastikas are a big "no, no". I guess Americans would consider this a limitation of "freedom of speech".

[changeself]

the americans have the legal freedom to deny the others the legal freedom.

it is one seriously f**cked up country, indeed.

[blueskybigstar]

What about the slander and defamation that they do all the time?

[outnow]

Dubya swiftboated John Kerry but was smart enough to use a cutout for ostensible deniability. Bush 41 swiftboated John McCain with rumors about a black child or some such, again using third parties who have immunity under the First Amendment.

Forged documents suck so I have no sympathy for what apparently happened or is happening to Villepin. If there is a jury, the jury could disregard the evidence of guilt and nullify the charges but, this looks like a bench trial.

I remember another "famous" case a century ago that created a controversty that exists to this day in France. This case seems to be dirty tricks where someone got caught.

[mazaza]

I think you are referring to "affaire Dreyfus". You are right, it is still remembered (maybe not all that clearly by younger generations).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreyfus_affair

[yannb]

At least in France rotten politics do stand trial...

[mazaza]

Sorry to dampen your enthusiasm : rotten politics very rarely stand trial. Politicians here do have a knack for protecting themselves.

[Tavallai]

I'm not sure why this is being billed in France as the trial of the century.

It's the French equivalent of John McCain going after Dubya: two ineffectual, outdated men from the same ineffectual, outdated party who happen to be in their respective position because the masses were too complacent to get rid of their ilk in the first place.

[mazaza]

Not exactly. It is about one PM passing on forged documents to incriminate Sarkozy, his then political rival for the presidency.
As for the last part of your post, I could not agree more.