A case has been opened in France against the former prime minister over expensive gifts
A preliminary investigation has been launched in France into former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. The case concerns expensive gifts he received while serving as foreign minister. According to media reports, de Villepin may also run in next year’s presidential election.
“A preliminary investigation has been opened into the receipt of property obtained by criminal means, the embezzlement of public funds, and all related offenses,” said prosecutor Pascal Prash.
According to Prash, the investigation concerns two gifts that de Villepin allegedly received between 2002 and 2004, when he was head of French diplomacy.
French media report that the gifts in question are two statues of Napoleon, valued at tens of thousands of euros. According to an investigation previously aired on French public television, the gifts to de Villepin may have been given by French lobbyist Robert Bourgi, known for his ties to African political elites in former French colonies. One of the items, according to journalists, may have come from former Burkina Faso President Blaise Compaoré, and the other from Italian businessman Gian Angelo Perrucci.
De Villepin’s associates stated that he is calm about the investigation and ready to cooperate with the prosecution.
“The Financial Prosecutor’s Office will have no difficulty shedding light on this case, and Dominique de Villepin is calm and ready to cooperate with the investigation,” said a representative of the former minister’s team.
Earlier this month, de Villepin admitted that accepting gifts from Bourgi was a “mistake,” but downplayed the significance of the allegations.
Dominique de Villepin was a prominent figure on the French right during Jacques Chirac’s presidency. He served as chief of staff to the president, minister of foreign affairs, and minister of the interior, and led the French government from 2005 to 2007. The most famous international episode of his political career was his speech to the UN Security Council in 2003, when he spoke out on behalf of France against the military invasion of Iraq.
Last year, Vilpén founded his own political party and is considered a potential candidate for the 2027 presidential election, in which incumbent President Emmanuel Macron will be ineligible to run for another term.
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