Soldiers of fortune go free as judge denounces Chirac

over island coup
The Times June 21, 2006

From Adam Sage in Paris

COVERT attempts by President Chirac to exert influence over Africa were exposed by a French court yesterday, when it denounced his secret services for conniving with a band of mercenaries in a coup in the tiny Comoros Islands.

In a damning ruling, the Paris Criminal Tribunal said that the French authorities had given at least tacit approval to the 1995 coup led by Bob Denard, the best-known French soldier of fortune.

<snip>

Although France has long been accused of secret operations to maintain its influence in Africa, the ruling constituted an unprecedented, public condemnation of these practices. It was particularly embarrassing for M Chirac, who has sought to portray himself as one of the Third World’s greatest advocates in the West.

<snip>

Denard, one of France’s most colourful figures, spent 30 years in Africa’s battlefields, where he was often suspected of acting on behalf of the French authorities. He was involved in a total of four coups or attempted coups in Comoros Islands after they won independence from France in 1975.

<snip>

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2235653,00.html