In the headlines: Vincent Bolloré could well be tried in correctional for facts of corruption in Africa
Audio 04:08
Vincent Bolloré.
REUTERS / Charles Platiau
By: Norbert Navarro
8 min
Publicity
Vincent Bolloré who, in an attempt to avoid a criminal trial, admits his guilt and that of his group in acts of corruption in Togo. In vain. The billionaire could well be judged anyway in correctional
"A setback" for Vincent Bolloré, admits
Le Parisien
, "
the billionaire, who pleaded guilty in a corruption case in Africa, was refused by the Paris judicial court the validation of a sentence negotiated with the national financial prosecutor .
He risks a trial,
”sums up this daily soberly.
In the online newspaper Mediapart, on the other hand, the treatment of this case is of a completely different magnitude.
If a website had a real front page, we could certainly say that this affair is there.
And invades him.
"
A snub for Bolloré at the Paris court
"
,
indeed launches Mediapart.
"
Nothing went as planned
" yesterday, during the hearing to validate the procedure concerning Vincent Bolloré, bid this newspaper online, pointing to the "
twist
" that occurred there.
The scene took place in the middle of a hearing before the Paris court.
While at the bar, Vincent Bolloré in person had just admitted his guilt for "corruption" (of a foreign public official) and "complicity in breach of trust", the president of the Correctional Chamber ruled that the sentence accepted by Vincent Bolloré, in the context of a plea-guilty procedure negotiated with the National Financial Prosecutor's Office in order to avoid a criminal trial, was "
unsuitable in view of the circumstances of the offense
", given the seriousness of the facts and the personality of Vincent Bolloré, boss of a very large company which "
represents France abroad
", reports Mediapart.
Isabelle Prévost-Desprez - this is the name of this presiding judge - considered "
necessary
" that the case be judged during a public trial.
"
The pill is bitter for Vincent Bolloré
", states this online newspaper.
After having carefully recalled that in Togo (but also in Guinea), a subsidiary of Bolloré paid another company of the group - Havas, in this case - "
electoral services
" for the benefit of the presidents of these two countries, Faure Gnassingbé and Alpha Condé respectively (in exchange for contracts and other tax advantages), after stressing that these accounting practices are "
contrary to (the) corporate purpose
" of the said subsidiary which paid for the said services,
Mediapart
indicates that this judicial file will now be returned to the investigating judges and that it is now up to them to "
send or not the billionaire, who is indicted, before a criminal court
".
He will know the day after tomorrow his judgment in the so-called "
eavesdropping
" or "
Paul Bismuth affair
", it is Nicolas Sarkozy.
Along with his lawyer Thierry Herzog, the former president is being prosecuted for "
corruption
" and "
influence peddling
"
“
Monday March 1, the Sarkozysts will hold their breath,
” says
Le Parisien
.
Two days before the judgment, "
relatives
" of Nicolas Sarkozy "
keep a tough tooth
" against the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF), reports this daily ... In the columns of which the senator of Paris, Pierre Charon, denounces an institution within which the magistrates "either
self-protect themselves, or kill each other
".
Being reminded that the prosecution required four years of imprisonment, including two suspended sentences against the former president, Nicolas Sarkozy awaits this judgment
"
without feverishness or excitement
", assures his entourage in
Le Parisien
.
Another reminder, from March 17, Nicolas Sarkozy has a new appointment with justice since he will appear once again in criminal proceedings for having exceeded his campaign spending limit in 2012 as part of the Bygmalion affair.
That is why if, on Monday, "
Sarkozy is relaxed, that atmosphere Bygmalion
", hopes, in
Le Parisien
, a friend of the former head of state.
As this newspaper puts it, these legal trials constitute "
so many close hurdles necessary for Nicolas Sarkozy to overcome if he aspires one day, as some on the right hope, to pose as a… political appeal
".
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