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| Bettencourt butler and five journalists to stand trial for breach of privacy | Bettencourt butler and five journalists to stand trial for breach of privacy |
| (14 days later) | |
| The former butler of the billionaire heiress to the L'Oreal shampoo empire, as well as five senior French journalists, have been ordered to face trial for breaching French privacy laws by publishing extracts of conversations covertly recorded at her house. | The former butler of the billionaire heiress to the L'Oreal shampoo empire, as well as five senior French journalists, have been ordered to face trial for breaching French privacy laws by publishing extracts of conversations covertly recorded at her house. |
| The explosive "butler tapes" played a central role in the long-running legal investigation into whether the mental frailty of the 90-year-old Liliane Bettencourt was taken advantage of by hangers-on asking for cheques at her vast estate outside Paris. | The explosive "butler tapes" played a central role in the long-running legal investigation into whether the mental frailty of the 90-year-old Liliane Bettencourt was taken advantage of by hangers-on asking for cheques at her vast estate outside Paris. |
| When the investigative website Mediapart first published extracts from the tapes in June 2010 it became a huge story, raising issues about alleged illegal donations to the then president Nicolas Sarkozy's rightwing UMP, as well as allegedly questionable tax arrangements, influence-peddling and political meddling at the highest level of the state. | When the investigative website Mediapart first published extracts from the tapes in June 2010 it became a huge story, raising issues about alleged illegal donations to the then president Nicolas Sarkozy's rightwing UMP, as well as allegedly questionable tax arrangements, influence-peddling and political meddling at the highest level of the state. |
| Several figures, including Sarkozy and Eric Woerth, his former budget minister and party treasurer, are under formal investigation in the sprawling and ongoing Bettencourt investigations. They deny the allegations against them. | Several figures, including Sarkozy and Eric Woerth, his former budget minister and party treasurer, are under formal investigation in the sprawling and ongoing Bettencourt investigations. They deny the allegations against them. |
| The tapes were made by the butler Pascal Bonnefoy, who secretly placed a dictaphone in Bettencourt's drawing room over a 12-month period between 2009 and 2010. They revealed crucial conversations between the frail widow and her entourage of lawyers and financial managers. In the background could be heard the clinking of chinaware and occasional snoring, apparently from Bettencourt herself. In July last year a court ordered two French publications to remove the recordings from their websites. | The tapes were made by the butler Pascal Bonnefoy, who secretly placed a dictaphone in Bettencourt's drawing room over a 12-month period between 2009 and 2010. They revealed crucial conversations between the frail widow and her entourage of lawyers and financial managers. In the background could be heard the clinking of chinaware and occasional snoring, apparently from Bettencourt herself. In July last year a court ordered two French publications to remove the recordings from their websites. |
| The journalists ordered to appear in court are Edwy Plenel, head of Mediapart, as well as his leading investigative reporters Fabrice Arfi and Fabrice Lhomme, who has since moved to Le Monde. Also on trial are Franz-Olivier Giesbert, editor of the news weekly Le Point, which also obtained the tapes, and one of the magazine's most senior reporters, Hervé Gattegno. | The journalists ordered to appear in court are Edwy Plenel, head of Mediapart, as well as his leading investigative reporters Fabrice Arfi and Fabrice Lhomme, who has since moved to Le Monde. Also on trial are Franz-Olivier Giesbert, editor of the news weekly Le Point, which also obtained the tapes, and one of the magazine's most senior reporters, Hervé Gattegno. |
| The journalists all contest infringing France's strict laws protecting private life, arguing public interest, "the duty to inform" and "citizens' right to know". No trial date has yet been set. The butler has argued that he was acting to protect his employer's interests. | The journalists all contest infringing France's strict laws protecting private life, arguing public interest, "the duty to inform" and "citizens' right to know". No trial date has yet been set. The butler has argued that he was acting to protect his employer's interests. |
| The Bettencourt case has already raised issues about reporting freedoms in France. The former intelligence chief Bernard Squarcini is also to face trial for ordering the seizure of the phone records of a Le Monde journalist investigating the Bettencourt affair in an alleged attempt by the highest levels of the French state to identify the journalist's source. Squarcini has argued the action was legal and in the public interest. | The Bettencourt case has already raised issues about reporting freedoms in France. The former intelligence chief Bernard Squarcini is also to face trial for ordering the seizure of the phone records of a Le Monde journalist investigating the Bettencourt affair in an alleged attempt by the highest levels of the French state to identify the journalist's source. Squarcini has argued the action was legal and in the public interest. |
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