Chirac

Many of us will have been pleased to see the conviction of Jacques Chirac, and to those, myself included, who would have liked to see the old fraud behind bars, we could never realistically have expected it. This is the first time that the Fifth Republic has prosecuted a former president and it has been worthwhile, not least for France, where the Head of State, following the constitution designed by de Gaulle, has far too much power, and too many means to keep his excesses quiet.

What interests me most is what this might do the candidacy of Dominique de Villepin, who was a protegé of Chirac and very much associated with those times.

Well, at least he isn't Sarkozy.

Another chapeau in the ring

'Pass the Dominique', I said to the friend helping me with the cooking. Without hesitation he passed me the veal pan; Dominique Marie François René Galouzeau de Villepin was then famous, although we haven't heard much from him recently.

Villepin was famous for a number of reasons: he became Prime Minister of France without having been elected by anyone. In France the President can appoint anyone he likes as Prime Minister and Jacques Chirac liked the handsome poet from the foreign office who had been his chief of staff.

The man with the matinee idol looks is famous for a couple of other things, too. In September a lawyer called Robert Bourgi claimed to have been an intermediary between Chirac and Villepin and some African leaders, whereby the Africans handed the French wodges of cash. He said the envelopes he handed over seldom contained less than $1m and often more. The matter was dropped recently for lack of evidence.

Villepin was also accused of publicising that Sarkozy's name was on a list of people who took bribes for arms sales. The document turned out to be false.

So, an exciting life so far, and one untroubled by the democratic process. He doesn't like Sarko (who does?) and might not have stood if Strauss-Kahn were standing. He almost certainly can't win, but he will take votes away from the President.