Posted on 12/22/2006 7:08:25 PM PST by NormsRevenge
PARIS (Reuters) - French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin said on Friday he had been the victim of "calumny and lies," as he emerged from 17 hours of questioning by magistrates over an apparent smear campaign against a political rival.
Villepin was heard as a witness, not a suspect, in the so-called Clearstream affair, which revolves around faked bank accounts and hushed-up government probes. But commentators said the prime minister's image had suffered.
The marathon session, interrupted only by lunch and a break in which media said Villepin did some push-ups, ended at 3 a.m. (0200 GMT) on Friday. The prime minister told reporters:
"As far as I was concerned, I was very happy to be able to provide my testimony in this affair where for many months I have been the victim of calumny and lies.
"Throughout this marathon hearing, which lasted 17 hours, I have been keen to answer all the questions as precisely as possible, anxious that the truth should emerge," he said.
It is only the second time in modern France that a judge has questioned a prime minister as a witness. Socialist Lionel Jospin was heard over a party financing affair in 2001.
Villepin's critics say he sought to benefit from the scandal at the expense of Nicolas Sarkozy, his long-standing rival within the political right and a presidential front-runner. The prime minister denies the accusation.
The Clearstream affair began when anonymous letters were sent to an examining magistrate in 2004 alleging that Sarkozy and a list of senior left- and right-wing politicians held accounts in Clearstream, a Luxembourg-based clearing house.
BOGUS
The money in them was said to be linked to the bribe-ridden 1991 sale of frigates to Taiwan, but the accounts proved bogus. Investigations continued, however, leading to complaints by Sarkozy of an elaborate attempt to discredit him.
Before becoming prime minister last year, Villepin ordered at least two separate investigations into the Clearstream case without communicating the findings to the prime minister at the time or a judge separately investigating the affair.
Villepin has told reporters he was duty-bound to act when the allegations were brought to his attention during his time as foreign and then interior minister.
The scandal has heated up ahead of next year's presidential election, in which Sarkozy is seen as the right's clear favorite to face Socialist Party candidate Segolene Royal.
Villepin has not ruled out a bid but has repeatedly said he harbours no "presidential ambitions."
Commentators said the case had hurt his image, noting his questioning on Thursday coincided with a widely broadcast party debate in Bordeaux, in which Sarkozy scored points.
"On the same day that Nicolas Sarkozy was lifted up on high by the governing majority ... Villepin was reduced to doing push-ups in the court's antechamber," Le Progres daily said.
But government spokesman Jean-Francois Cope told RTL radio he thought the scandal had not weakened the prime minister. "It's a way for him to say things directly and not to read about things in the press, which has made him suffer a lot," he said.
Defense Minister Michele Alliot-Marie, another potential rival for Sarkozy, was questioned about the case in November.
(Additional reporting by Crispian Balmer)
France's Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin speaks to reporters as he leaves the financial investigation squad headquarters in Paris December 22, 2006. French magistrates questioned de Villepin on Thursday as part of an investigation into an apparent smear campaign in 2004 against conservative presidential frontrunner Nicolas Sarkozy. (Charles Platiau/Reuters)
"Dominique-nique-nique s'on allait tout simplement.
Routier, pauvre chantant". Of something like that.
Remember the "Singing Nun" from the '60s?
Dominique, nique, nique
S'en allait tout simplement,
Routier, pauvre et chantant
En tous chemins, en tous lieux,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu
A l'époque où Jean Sans Terre,
D'Angleterre était le roi
Dominique notre père,
Combattit les albigeois.
Dominique, nique, nique
S'en allait tout simplement,
Routier, pauvre et chantant
En tous chemins, en tous lieux,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu
Certains jours un hérétique,
Par des ronces le conduit
Mais notre Père Dominique,
Par sa joie le convertit
Dominique, nique, nique
S'en allait tout simplement,
Routier, pauvre et chantant
En tous chemins, en tous lieux,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu
Ni chameau, ni diligence,
Il parcourt l'Europe à pied
Scandinavie ou Provence,
Dans la sainte pauvreté
Dominique, nique, nique
S'en allait tout simplement,
Routier, pauvre et chantant
En tous chemins, en tous lieux,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu
Enflamma de toute école
Filles et garçons pleins d'ardeur
Et pour semer la parole,
Inventa les Frères-Prêcheurs
Dominique, nique, nique
S'en allait tout simplement,
Routier, pauvre et chantant
En tous chemins, en tous lieux,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu
Chez Dominique et ses frères,
Le pain s'en vint à manquer
Et deux anges se présentèrent,
Portant de grands pains dorés
Dominique, nique, nique
S'en allait tout simplement,
Routier, pauvre et chantant
En tous chemins, en tous lieux,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu
Dominique vit en rêve,
Les prêcheurs du monde entier
Sous le manteau de la Vierge,
En grand nombre rassemblés.
Dominique, nique, nique
S'en allait tout simplement,
Routier, pauvre et chantant
En tous chemins, en tous lieux,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu
Dominique, mon bon Père,
Garde-nous simples et gais
Pour annoncer à nos frères,
La vie et la vérité.
Dominique, nique, nique
S'en allait tout simplement,
Routier, pauvre et chantant
En tous chemins, en tous lieux,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu,
Il ne parle que du Bon Dieu
What? No English translation?
Shouldn't have been a problem. He seems to like the sound of his own voice.
No english translation but here's an interesting wikipedia article about the sister who composed & performed the song.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Soeur Sourire
The Singing Nun was Jeanine Deckers (born Jeanne-Paule Marie Deckers; October 17, 1933 – March 29, 1985), a member (as Sister Luc Gabriel) of the Dominican Fichermont Convent in Belgium.
Popular in the convent for her music, she was encouraged by the other nuns to record an album in 1963. One song from that album, Dominique, soared to the top of the charts in the United States. Overnight, the Dominican nun was an international celebrity with the stage name of Soeur Sourire (Sister Smile). She gave concerts and appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.
In 1966, a movie called The Singing Nun was made about her, starring Debbie Reynolds in the title role — Deckers rejected the film as "fictional".
As the 1960s progressed, Deckers stopped performing in favor of a more rigorous devotional life. In 1967, she left to pursue her musical career, though most of her earnings went to the convent. Despite her renewed musical emphasis, Deckers gradually faded into obscurity, possibly because of her own disdain for fame: her second album, released in 1967, was titled I Am Not a Star.
Although she was deeply religious, she was also increasingly critical of the Roman Catholic Church's conservatism and eventually became an advocate of birth control. She also agreed with John Lennon's statements about Jesus in 1966. In 1967, she recorded a song entitled Glory Be to God for the Golden Pill — a paean to contraception — under the name Luc Dominique. It was as big a flop as Dominique had been a success.
Her musical career over, Deckers opened a school for autistic children in Belgium with her companion of ten years, Annie Pécher. In the early 1980s, the Belgian government claimed that she owed back taxes; she countered that the money was given to the convent and therefore exempt from taxes. Lacking any receipt to prove her donations to the convent and her religious order, Deckers ran into the heaviest of financial problems. One last attempt to resume her singing career failed in 1982. She and Pécher both died by an overdose of barbiturates and alcohol, and were buried together.
In 1996, The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun premiered Off-Broadway at The Grove Street Playhouse. The play, which was written and directed by Blair Fell, was loosely based on the events in Deckers' life. The production, which featured several musical numbers, followed the renamed character Jeanine Fou's life from her entry into the convent until her death with Pécher. The play's critical success [1] led the Catholic League to speak out publicly against the production. [2]
In 2006, a revival of The Tragic and Horrible Life of the Singing Nun was staged during the New York Musical Theater Festival and was produced by George DeMarco and David Gerard both of whom produced the original 1996 production at the Grove Street Playhouse. The new production featured additional original music by Andy Monroe and was directed by Michael Schiralli.
Rough translation from http://www.swinginchicks.com/singing_nun.htm
"Dominique, oh Dominique
Over the land he plods along
Never looking for reward
He just talks about the Lord, he just talks about the Lord, he just talks about the Lord
At a time when John Lackland
Over England was the king
Dominic was in the backland
Fighting sin like anything
Now a heretic one day
Among the thorn forced him to crawl
Dominic with just one prayer
Made him hear the good Lord's call
Without horses or fancy wagon
He crossed Europe up and down
Poverty was his companion
As he walked from town to town
To bring back the straying liars
And the lost sheep to the fold
He brought forth the Preaching Friars
Heaven's soldiers brave and bold
One day in the budding Order
There was nothing left to eat
Suddenly two angels walked in
With a load of bread and meat
Dominic once in his slumber
Saw the Virgin coat unfurled
Over Friars without number
Preaching all around the world
Grant us now oh Dominic
The grace of love and simple mirth
That we all may help to quicken
Godly love and truth on earth"
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