FORMER FRENCH prime minister Dominique de Villepin yesterday lashed out at the “vindictiveness” of French president Nicolas Sarkozy as he went on trial for an alleged attempt to smear his rival, in a case heavy with intrigue and revenge.
On the first day of the hearing into the so-called Clearstream affair, Mr de Villepin claimed he was the victim of a political trial but insisted he would be “cleared in the name of the French people”.
“I am here because of the determination of one man, I am here because of the vindictiveness of one man, Nicolas Sarkozy, who is also president of the French republic,” Mr de Villepin declared as he arrived at the criminal court in central Paris, flanked by his wife and children.
Mr de Villepin is accused of orchestrating a plot to implicate Mr Sarkozy in a corrupt arms deal, and to thereby thwart his ambitions to become a presidential candidate for the centre-right UMP party five years ago. If found guilty, Mr de Villepin could face up to five years in prison.
The Clearstream trial is promising to be one of the most gripping criminal court cases in France in recent decades, lifting the lid on the infighting and animosity at the pinnacle of the state.
It will also shine a light on the murky relations between France’s political leaders and its security services.
At its heart is a duel between Mr de Villepin, a flamboyant former foreign minister and later prime minister, and the current president. The case is highly unusual because Mr Sarkozy is one of 40 plaintiffs in the trial and his lawyer will be able to cross-examine witnesses.
Mr de Villepin’s lawyers yesterday argued before the court that the involvement of Mr Sarkozy – who enjoys immunity and is also ultimately responsible for the state prosecution service – contravened the principle of equality before the law.
Mr de Villepin and Mr Sarkozy were both proteges of former French president Jacques Chirac.
But whereas Mr Sarkozy fell out with his mentor in the mid-1990s, Mr de Villepin remained loyal and was groomed as Mr Chirac’s successor – to Mr Sarkozy’s fury.
At the centre of the highly convoluted case is the allegation that in 2004 Mr de Villepin tried to implicate Mr Sarkozy in an investigation into illegal commission payments resulting from the sale of French frigates to Taiwan in the early 1990s.
In May 2004 documents were sent to a judge investigating the Taiwan frigates affair that suggested Mr Sarkozy and other political and business figures held secret bank accounts with Clearstream, a Luxembourg clearing house, where the commissions were said to have been paid.
The tip-off came from Jean-Louis Gergorin, then a vice-president of aerospace group Eads and a friend of Mr de Villepin.
Mr Gergorin claims Mr de Villepin, then foreign minister, ordered an investigation into the fake listings and the tip-off to the judge. – (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009)