 |
Focus on France 14 October 2008
Ten people detained on suspicion of spying on ex-presidential candidate
Article published on the 2008-10-14 Latest update 2008-10-15 15:43 TU
Olivier Besancenot
(Photo: AFP)
Ten people were detained by Paris police on Tuesday on suspicion of spying on Olivier Besancenot, the spokesman for France's Ligue Communiste Révolutionnaire (LCR) party. Besancenot is a former presidential candidate and while he took only four per cent of the vote in 2007, he is regularly identified as one of the most popular politicians on the left in France.
A spying plot on Olivier Besancenot?
The ten brought into custody include policemen, detectives from a private detective agency and Antoine di Zazzo, the head of the company that sells Taser guns in France. They were detained as part of a probe into claims by Besancenot, following an investigation by Express magazine, that he has been spied on from October 2007 to January this year.
SMP technologies is taking Besancenot to court for having referred to the number of people who have died in the US from Taser pistols which fires 50,000 volts as a "non-lethal" deterrant. This trial is due to open next week on 20 October.
Besancenot has said Di Zazzo is "seeking 50,000 euros from me just because I drew attention to an Amnesty International report", referring to an Amnesty document that says Taser weapons have caused hundreds of deaths and have called for a moratorium on their use.
Di Zazzo is suspected of having commissioned police, private detectives and bank employees to spy on the LCR spokesman. Last May the businessman denied the accusations saying, "We never asked to have Mr. Besancenot followed - Why would we? His private life is of interest to us."
The suspicions concern the consulting of the vehicle registation and bank account details of Besancenot as well as photographs of his partner and child outside their home.
Reports in France on Tuesday claimed a link had already been established between the detective agency, which is run by a former police officer, and Di Zazzo's SMP Technologies.
News of the detentions comes shortly after opposition in France to a new Intelligence-gathering bill, called Edvige. Besancenot said the allegation of the spying plot was "one more reason to oppose Edvige."
Archives: Focus on France
Focus on France 15 February 2010
France's pension dilemma
France's generous pension system is under strain, as fewer workers are pressed to support more and more retired people. The government and the opposition as well as unions know something needs to be done, but no one can can agree on the way forward.
2010-02-15 18:15 TU
Focus on France 14 February 2010
Unlikely couples in Paris on Valentine's Day
The theme at this year’s Carnaval de Paris on Valentine’s Day is improbable couples. But what kind of unlikely lovers will you find on Paris's Place de Gambetta on a cold Sunday afternoon?
2010-02-14 16:14 TU
Focus on France 13 February 2010
The week in France
This week's news in France brought the end of the "National Identity Debate", Garde-a-vue, and Prime Minister François Fillion's trip to Afghanistan.
2010-02-13 15:08 TU
Focus on France 12 February 2010
France's colonial occupation in Algeria
Some Algerian lawmakers want to criminalise France's colonial occupation.
2010-02-12 18:07 TU
Focus on France 11 February 2010
Fillon in Afghanistan
French Prime Minister François Fillon has made a surprise trip to Afghanistan. He says France will stay until the country is stable, and says he is impressed by President Karzai's commitment at the London conference on Afghanistan last week.
2010-02-12 08:53 TU
Focus on France 10 February 2010
Limits on detention without charge debated
The government is considering limits on police powers after a group of adolescents were handcuffed and locked up in a Parisian police station for several hours without charge because of a fight in a school.
2010-02-10 16:43 TU
Focus on France 5 February 2010
Regional elections to test national mood
Campaigning has begun for France's regional elections due next month. With left-leaning parties ahead in the opinion polls, the vote may pass a tough judgement on President Nicolas Sarkozy's record in office.
2010-02-05 16:06 TU
Focus on France 4 February 2010
France to back trade ban on bluefin tuna
France says it will support a trade ban on the much-prized bluefin tuna but it'll take 18 months to take effect, allowing French fishermen to carry out over-exploiting the Mediterranean for at least two more seasons. Green groups say the decision is absurd.
2010-02-04 15:25 TU
Focus on France 3 February 2010
Entrepreneur exhibition
Social entreprises, auto-entrepreneurs and Bangladeshi-entrepreneur and Nobel peace prize winner Muhammad Yunus.
2010-02-03 16:13 TU
Focus on France 2 February 2010
Paris trial on 2000 Concorde crash
What caused a Concorde to crash in 2000, killing 113 people? An investigation concluded that a metal strip which fell off a Continental Airlines, was partly to blame. But at a trial which began in Paris on Tuesday, lawyers for Continental argued otherwise.
2010-02-02 15:40 TU
