For once, the French left and right used almost the same words. Describing the scandal which forced Mr Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry, to resign yesterday, the Gaullist RPR politician Mr Josselin de Rohan spoke of "a clap of thunder in a blue sky". The socialist Ms Lyne Cohen-Solal said it was "like lightning striking".
Rarely has a corruption scandal broken so quickly, taking the man who was arguably France's most powerful cabinet minister in its wake. Mr Strauss-Kahn was on holiday with his family in Vietnam when it was revealed on the eve of the long All Saints Day weekend that he was being investigated for helping to forge documents in connection with the MNEF scandal, of which more later. He flew back to Paris immediately, arriving on Sunday.
In private meetings on Sunday and Monday, the French Prime Minister, Mr Lionel Jospin, left it to his old friend Mr Strauss-Kahn to decide what to do. An unwritten rule dictates that any cabinet minister who is mis en examen - a judiciary procedure tantamount to indictment - must resign. Mr Strauss-Kahn has not yet been mis en examen, but the step appears inevitable. The situation was excruciating for Mr Jospin because he has made integrity and transparency the hallmarks of his government.
Mr Strauss-Kahn's decision was not long in coming. He looked haggard and refused to take questions during his brief press conference in the finance ministry yesterday. "If I am resigning," he said, "it is not because I feel guilty in any way. I took this decision because I believe that morality and a sense of responsibility demand it. In my opinion, it is not right for a minister to continue to exercise his functions while there is an allegation against him giving rise to a judicial process which risks damaging the whole government."
Later in the day, Mr Jospin paid homage to the 50-year-old Mr Strauss-Kahn in the National Assembly, citing "the exceptional quality of work he has accomplished for our country in 21/2 years" and the fact that he is "respected, esteemed and listened to by his peers on the international scene". If Mr Strauss-Kahn is cleared by judges, he is expected to return immediately to the government.
Mr Jospin cut short speculation about a successor, naming the junior Minister for the Budget, Mr Christian Sautter, to replace Mr Strauss-Kahn at the "super-ministry" which includes foreign trade and small and medium businesses as well as the economy, finance and industry. Mr Sautter (59) holds the rank of "Inspecteur general des Finances" in the civil service, has a strong interest in Japan and 34 years' experience in government and research institutes. Although he lacks Mr Strauss-Kahn's flamboyant personality and closeness to Mr Jospin, no one questions his competence.
Mr Strauss-Kahn is considered the architect of France's economic recovery. Under his stewardship, the French economy in 1998 achieved its highest economic growth in a decade. Consumption is rising, businesses are investing and unemployment is falling. An author of the socialist party's 1997 election campaign platform, Mr Strauss-Kahn convinced Mr Jospin to pursue participation in EMU wholeheartedly and comply with the stringent "stability pact" disliked by the socialists. Considered the most pro-market member of the government, he persuaded Mr Jospin to privatise state-owned giants like France Telecom. Although nominally a socialist, Mr Strauss-Kahn has overseen more privatisations than any other finance minister and is well-liked by businessmen and the right. His fluency in German and English made him an accessible colleague for other finance ministers.
It is a sign of Mr Strauss-Kahn's achievement that financial markets barely fluttered at the news of his resignation. The French economy is now sturdy enough to withstand such surprises. Across the euro zone, markets were much more interested in the upcoming European Central Bank decision on raising interest rates. Analysts said that with 11 states in the single currency, the resignation of a single finance minister has a diluted effect.
Consequences will be more far-reaching in French politics. Under the Jospin government, absolute financial probity has become the rule. The right, which is mired in scandals centred on the Gaullists' use of the Paris city hall as a piggy bank for the RPR party, is overjoyed that the socialists are now tainted by a similar affair involving the Mutuelle nationale des etudiants de France or MNEF, the biggest student health insurance fund in France, financed in part by French taxpayers. The socialists stand accused of siphoning money from the MNEF, just as the RPR raided local government coffers. Politicians on both left and right have suggested a general amnesty.
Mr Strauss-Kahn's case is one part of the broader MNEF scandal, and involves 603,000 French francs (€72,398) in lawyer's fees paid to him between 1994 and 1996. Although he did not draft the transaction documents, he claims to have advised the MNEF on the partial sale of one of its holding companies to the conglomerate Compagnie generale des eaux (now Vivendi) for 21 million French francs. Lawyers say such a fee would not have been unreasonable, and despite a lack of evidence of his work, Mr Strauss-Kahn might have survived allegations that he benefited from a fake job.
But a former MNEF director says he ante-dated the December 1994 letter hiring Mr Strauss-Kahn. More damaging, some of the forged documents seeking to justify his payment - including a bill and a report dated 1996 and signed by Mr Strauss-Kahn - were apparently drafted in 1998. Forensic scientists say the paper on which they were printed was not available in 1996, nor was the typeface invented until later. Several employees of the student fund claim they were instructed to annotate old documents with remarks such as "ask DSK" to give the impression that he was an active legal adviser. In his resignation announcement, Mr Strauss-Kahn mentioned "technical irregularities which may have been committed" - an apparent allusion to the forgeries.
