Patron of the Bestimage photo agency, Michèle Marchand was indicted on Saturday for "witness tampering" in the case of suspicion of Libyan financing of Nicolas Sarkozy's campaign in 2007. Last November, the businessman Franco-Lebanese Ziad Takieddine returned to some of his statements against the former head of state.
DECRYPTION
What is she doing in this politico-financial affair?
After 48 hours in police custody, Michèle Marchand, boss of the Bestimage photo agency and high priestess of the press people, was indicted on Saturday for witness tampering in the case of the alleged Libyan financing of Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential campaign in 2007. It all started with an interview in the weekly
Paris Match
(media of the Lagardère group, like Europe 1), in which Ziad Takieddine, one of the main protagonists of this affair, reviews some of his statements to the against Nicolas Sarkozy.
An about-face that questions investigators
Last November, the Franco-Lebanese businessman Ziad Takieddine gave an interview to a journalist from the magazine and a photographer from Bestimage, the agency run by "Mimi" Marchand. The main accuser of the former president returns to the testimony he has been repeating since 2016: no, Nicolas Sarkozy did not receive any money from Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi for his 2007 presidential campaign. In the interview, Ziad Takieddine accuses the judges of "having put pressure on him".
This about-face, however, is not confirmed before the magistrates in charge of the investigation of this case;
Ziad Takieddine assures them that his remarks were "turned badly" by the journalist.
Then arose suspicions of negotiation, promises of money to win the retraction of Ziad Takieddine.
The police are looking for an explanation for this media shift.
"Mimi" Marchand, for her part, "firmly" disputes all the facts.
"She just organized an interview, a photo shoot, defends her lawyer. Everything else is foreign to her."
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An atypical course
Before reigning supreme over the celebrity press, the septuagenarian was a mechanic, she set up nightclubs and a large network of acquaintances and celebrities. Having become a journalist, she got closer to the Elysee Palace and the Sarkozy couple, in particular. Michèle Marchand was released under judicial supervision.