France’s Le Monde newspaper accused the presidency on Monday of breaking press freedom laws when it sought the identity of a source who leaked details in the scandal dogging one of its ministers.
Le Monde said that an article from July naming French Labor Minister Eric Woerth in connection with a police investigation had “particularly irritated the Elysee” palace.
The president’s office used intelligence services to track down the article’s source “outside of any judicial procedure,” and more than two weeks before the opening of an official inquiry into the leak, it said.
The Elysee dismissed the claims, saying: “It never gave the least instruction to any service whatsoever.”
The allegations mark the latest twist in an affair that has embroiled Woerth, a close ally of French President Nicolas Sarkozy and the country’s richest woman, Liliane Bettencourt.
What began as a family feud between Bettencourt and her daughter has exploded into a series of investigations concerning political donations, suspected tax evasion and money laundering.
Union leaders, at odds with Woerth over pension reform, have said they can no longer work with the minister as almost daily attacks against him were now too big a distraction.
Any Elysee intervention was a breach of laws protecting journalists from revealing their sources, Le Monde said, adding that the man identified as the source had since been relieved of his duties and sent to work for a court in French Guyana.
Le Monde said it planned to file a lawsuit over the issue.
Sarkozy’s popularity rating is already close to record lows and his administration faces a new round of nationwide strikes on Sept. 23 against pension reform.
The government’s deportation of Roma last month drew criticism from the UN, the EU and the Pope, and saw opposition and left-wing groups protest across France.
The outcry grew louder over the weekend with the publication of an interior ministry memorandum ordering police to prioritize the expulsion of Roma from illegal camps over other ethnic groups, days after the barrage of criticism.
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
A documentary whose main subject, 25-year-old photojournalist Fatima Hassouna, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Gaza weeks before it premiered at Cannes stunned viewers into silence at the festival on Thursday. As the cinema lights came back on, filmmaker Sepideh Farsi held up an image of the young Palestinian woman killed with younger siblings on April 16, and encouraged the audience to stand up and clap to pay tribute. “To kill a child, to kill a photographer is unacceptable,” Farsi said. “There are still children to save. It must be done fast,” the exiled Iranian filmmaker added. With Israel
NO EXCUSES: Marcos said his administration was acting on voters’ demands, but an academic said the move was emotionally motivated after a poor midterm showing Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr yesterday sought the resignation of all his Cabinet secretaries, in a move seen as an attempt to reset the political agenda and assert his authority over the second half of his single six-year term. The order came after the president’s allies failed to win a majority of Senate seats contested in the 12 polls on Monday last week, leaving Marcos facing a divided political and legislative landscape that could thwart his attempts to have an ally succeed him in 2028. “He’s talking to the people, trying to salvage whatever political capital he has left. I think it’s
RSS