Paris (AFP)
Secretary of State to the Minister of Economy Agnès Pannier-Runacher said on Tuesday that she was "very surprised" by the announcement of the flight to Lebanon of the ex-CEO of Renault-Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, who was assigned in residence in Japan pending trial.
"I am very surprised," said Pannier-Runacher on France Inter, adding that she had learned "from the press" on Monday evening of this unexpected twist concerning the fallen car magnate.
"We have to understand exactly what happened," she added.
Carlos Ghosn arrived at Beirut airport on Monday. The businessman confirmed Tuesday in a press release that he is in Lebanon after leaving Japan where he was to be tried in 2020, notably for financial embezzlement.
The former boss of the Renault-Nissan alliance "is not above the law," said Pannier-Runacher. "He is a Lebanese, Brazilian and French national and consular support is acquired for him as (to) all French people," she added.
Since his arrest, his lawyers and family have strongly criticized his conditions of detention and the way in which the Japanese justice system conducts the procedure.
© 2019 AFP