CORRUPTION: Chirac’s Immunity Is Over, But…

By Julio Godoy Reprint | | Print |

Julio Godoy

PARIS, Jun 21 2007 (IPS) - For the last six years, the date Jun. 16, 2007 was the most awaited day by many in France. It was the day that ended immunity for former president Jacques Chirac from pending corruption cases over his 12-year mandate as head of state.

In March 2001, then prosecutor Eric Halphen had summoned Chirac to a hearing on a series of corruption scandals discovered in the city administration of Paris, that he said had taken place during the years Chirac was mayor.

Chirac refused to attend the hearing, arguing that it would be incompatible with his duties as President. This position was later confirmed by the court of appeal and by the French state council, which supervises all matters related to the constitution.

Now, Chirac’s immunity is legally over. Opinion polls suggest that most people would like him to face justice, but few believe he will.

Chirac, 75, could face prosecution in several corruption cases. Four of these relate to his period as mayor between 1977 and 1995.

The allegations in three of these cases are that Chirac misused city money to finance his now dissolved party, the Rassemblement pour la Republique (RPR). A fourth case relates to inflated food bills paid by the municipality.

One case alleges non-payment of bills on travel to Japan. Yet another alleges Chirac maintained a secret account in Japan into which public money was paid.

Chirac has also been accused of concealing information on the death of French judge Bernard Borrel, in uncertain circumstances in 1996 in Djibouti, where France maintains a large military unit. This was first dismissed as a case of suicide, but then reopened as a case of murder.

There has been enough evidence in the prosecution arguments to bring some convictions.

French justice has already sanctioned former RPR leader and former prime minister Alain Juppé, the closest aide to Chirac during his years as head of the Paris administration. Juppé was given a suspended sentence in 2005 of 14 months in prison. He was also sentenced to facing several restrictions for a year.

The prosecution cites several kinds of evidence. One is a letter dated Mar. 16, 1993 signed by Chirac in which he demands promotion for an administrative aide “for her exemplary commitment…in (fulfilment of) her delicate functions.” The aide actually worked at the RPR.

On Apr. 15, 1999, then prosecutor Patric Desmure claimed he has “evidence, in the sense expressed by the article 105 of the French penal code, against (Chirac), that he has participated in traffic of influence and abuse of public goods.”

Other prosecutors have made claims against Chirac in other corruption affairs.

Former anti-corruption prosecutor Eva Joly has said that “if the French judicial institutions work normally, Chirac shall be questioned in affairs… including the misuse of public funds in Paris, and also his alleged secret bank account in Japan.”

Joly, a Norwegian citizen who worked 10 years as prosecutor in France, and who conducted path-breaking inquiries into corruption cases associated with the former state-owned oil company Elf Aquitaine, has said that “it would be indecent for France if the corruption cases involving Chirac were handled as in Italy against Silvio Berlusconi, or in Chile against Augusto Pinochet.”

According to a poll on the weekend when Chirac’s immunity ended, 80 percent of those surveyed wanted an inquiry into Chirac’s involvement in the corruption cases. But the question is whether prosecutors now would summon Chirac for a hearing.