France: Will Chirac stand trial at last?

last updated 8 January 2015

A “cloud of sleaze” has long hung over Jacques Chirac, said Charles Bremner in Britain’s The Times. As president of France from 1995 to 2007, Chirac was dogged by rumors of “baronial” corruption from his days as mayor of Paris. Now that he is out of office and no longer enjoys presidential immunity, he has been ordered to stand trial. Investigators say that from 1977 to 1995, Chirac used city hall as his personal fiefdom, allegedly operating a “grace and favor system” through which aides and supporters were awarded “ghost jobs” and smart Paris apartments. The trial promises to be juicy. Tales abound of huge kickbacks from contractors that went to Chirac’s party, as well as of “suitcases of cash” dropped off at his palatial residence. The “mayoral largesse” was so vast that prosecuting it all would have taken years, and the investigating magistrate has chosen to let many of the lesser infractions slide and prosecute only the most solid charges. Still, even these may yet be thrown out by Paris’ public prosecutor—the wily Chirac has a knack for “passing between the raindrops,” as the French say.

Even so, Judge Xavière Simeoni’s decision to order a trial was a momentous one, said France’s Le Monde in an editorial. The crimes that Chirac is accused of could fetch him up to 10 years in prison. It is, of course, vital for justice and democracy that politicians be held accountable. But for some, prosecuting Chirac is a step too far. Opposition figure Ségolène Royal, for example, argues that the case is “not good for France’s image.” And many of the French believe it is simply unfair, said France’s Le Figaro. They regard the 77-year-old elder statesman with affection and respect, and think that he doesn’t deserve to be hauled into court for so-called crimes committed long ago. “For all his ups and downs,” Chirac has always managed “to arouse our sympathy.” His ill health, his poignant farewell speech when he stepped down, and his commitment to the underprivileged have helped make Chirac an icon. “The political animal of yesteryear has become a wise old man.”

That’s part of why there’s so much “collective shrugging” in France at the charges against Chirac, said Bruce Crumley in Time Europe. It helps, too, that Chirac is not accused of enriching himself, and that illegal political funding schemes were common from the 1970s to the 1990s. But there’s another element: The French just don’t want to look too closely at their own corruption. If Chirac goes down, he could take a lot of others with him. “Many members of France’s political class” have an interest in preventing such an outcome.