French Ex-Mayor Found Dead as Trial Starts
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Version 0 of 1. PARIS — The city of Tours had a simple plan: Lure Chinese couples to marry in the heart of the Loire Valley in France, with its romantic castles, as a way to improve the region’s economic fortunes. But it went awry, and the project got bogged down in corruption allegations. Then on Tuesday, the city’s former mayor, Jean Germain, apparently committed suicide as he was to go on trial with four other defendants in a case involving allegations of kickbacks and the misuse of public funds. The Senate, where Mr. Germain, a Socialist, was serving when he died, held a moment of silence to honor his memory on Tuesday. President François Hollande expressed his sadness, saying Mr. Germain had taken his own life “because he didn’t want his honor sullied.” Prosecutors began looking into the case in 2011 after news reports said the city was luring some already married Chinese couples for fake weddings. Minutes into the trial on Tuesday, Mr. Germain’s lawyer announced that a colleague had found a suicide note. The former mayor’s body was found later. The court abruptly adjourned until Oct. 13. The trial centers on accusations of kickbacks linked to $815,000 that Tours spent to lure Asian visitors from 2008 to 2011, officials said. The city spent tens of thousands of dollars on expenditures like a stand at the Shanghai World Expo in 2010 and sending a delegation to China, one defense lawyer said. Mr. Germain, 67, was facing charges that included the misuse of public funds, according to court documents, but he was not charged with benefiting financially himself. A City Hall employee who devised the plan, Lise Han, and her associates were the main suspected beneficiaries of the plot. As mayor for nearly two decades until 2014, Mr. Germain presided over the weddings and spoke publicly about the broad media coverage of them. The city’s effort to lure Chinese newlyweds ended after allegations of wrongdoing came to light. |