Paris
A former curator of France’s national library was accused this week of stealing at least 100 rare books from the collection. Michel Garel earlier admitted to stealing a 13-century Bible that turned up at auction five years ago. But he has since recanted, saying his confession was made under duress. A recent audit of the library, the first in decades, failed to locate some 30,000 books and manuscripts, including hundreds from medieval times. Garel said he is being scapegoated. For years, he said, he warned superiors that books were disappearing, even alerting them to a labyrinth of tunnels that connect the library basement to antiquarian bookshops.
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