Smears will not force me out, vows scandal-hit de Villepin

Engulfed by scandal and fighting to save his job, the French prime minister made an emotional outburst in parliament yesterday, portraying himself as the victim of a "shameful" smear campaign.

Dominique de Villepin made no attempt to conceal his anger and distress as he denied claims that he ordered an intelligence chief to investigate anonymous - and, as it transpired, false - corruption charges against his presidential rival and number two in government, Nicolas Sarkozy.

On the toughest day of his 11-month premiership, Mr de Villepin told the Paris parliament: "Enough is enough."

Facing the Assemblée Nationale before an emergency cabinet meeting last night, he said: "I have served my country for 30 years. I have been the victim in recent days of a shameful campaign of slander and lies which has deeply shocked and hurt me."

As opposition Socialist MPs chanted "resign", he insisted that he would not be diverted from "my duties as prime minister in the service of the French people".

Mr de Villepin is under pressure over the so-called Clearstream affair, dubbed the "French Watergate", in which an anonymous whistle-blower alleged without foundation that senior political and business figures took kickbacks from the sale of French frigates to Taiwan in 1991.

The money was allegedly laundered through secret accounts with Clearstream, a Luxembourg-based bank. Individuals were named in anonymous letters and a CD-rom sent two years ago to an investigating judge, who established that they were bogus.

Mr de Villepin's future may depend on the truth of what happened at a meeting in January 2004, when he was foreign secretary, with the intelligence official Gen Philippe Rondot. Gen Rondot reportedly told judges hunting the author of the false allegations that Mr de Villepin ordered him, on the authority of President Jacques Chirac, to investigate Mr Sarkozy.

Both the prime minister and president deny this, and Gen Rondot now says he was given no such instruction, suggesting that the judges may have misunderstood his evidence.

The judges have already searched the offices of the defence minister, Michèle Alliot-Marie, and there is growing speculation that they may visit Mr de Villepin's headquarters, the Matignon.

Mr Sarkozy, who is the president of the centre-Right UMP and hopes to replace Mr Chirac in 2007, reaffirmed yesterday that he "wanted to know the truth no matter what the consequences".

Mr de Villepin, whose day began with a half-hour grilling on France's equivalent of BBC Radio 4's Today programme and continued with a tense meeting of MPs from the ruling UMP party, said he had done nothing to warrant resignation.

However, some UMP members are among those suggesting that the government and party's electoral prospects are damaged by each day that he remains in office.

Mr de Villepin's standing has been battered by the student and union-led revolt that forced him to abandon an unpopular youth employment law.

According to an opinion poll published yesterday, in nearly 40 years of France's Fifth Republic, only one prime minister, Edith Cresson, has been more unpopular.

Schadenfreude, anyone?

Regards, Ivan

To: Jersey Republican Biker Chick; Laurita; Semper911; lutz; Deetes; Barset; fanfan; LadyofShalott; ...

Zee Frenchman... is is zee total snit, no?

3 posted on 05/03/2006 1:03:00 AM PDT by Ronin (Ut iusta esse, lex noblis severus necesse est)

You knew it was coming.

The signature block says it all.

Il n'y a pas d'honte être français. Il y a seulement l'honte dans rester de français.
(There is no shame in being French. There is only shame in staying French.)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

Schadenfreude

Ahhhhhhhh....that felt GOOOOOOD....

I've been waiting for this jackass to get his for years. So nice to see he did it to himself.

5 posted on 05/03/2006 1:12:43 AM PDT by Darkwolf377 (What part of 'If you don't vote Republican, DemRats will control our country' don't you understand?)

de Villepin was, is and always will be a mealy mouthed, two-bit cheese-eating surrender monkey utterly without honor.

Damn RIGHT it looks good on him! :)

6 posted on 05/03/2006 1:23:36 AM PDT by mkjessup (The Shah doesn't look so bad now, eh? But nooo, Jimmah said the Ayatollah was a 'godly' man.)

Maybe if he puts some ice on it, it won't hurt so bad.

7 posted on 05/03/2006 1:30:08 AM PDT by Lurker (Anyone who doesn't demand an immediate end to illegal immigration is aiding the flesh trade.)

Oh, Ivan. Sniggering at the hardships of others. Why, if he wasn't French...

I see they are still playing the violin while Paris is burning.

CACIQUE'S RECOMENDED READING LIST

9 posted on 05/03/2006 7:26:16 AM PDT by Cacique (quos Deus vult perdere, prius dementat ( Islamia Delenda Est ))

I wish I had seen the video of this.
I wonder what "snit" looks like on him?

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

10 posted on 05/03/2006 7:56:49 AM PDT by dixiechick2000 (There ought to be one day-- just one-- when there is open season on senators. ~~ Will Rogers)

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.