Former French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, a Suspect After 680 Kilos of Cocaine Found on Private Jet

Free Thought Project

Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy is under investigation for his involvement in a drug deal worth over $54 million. Investigators discovered that he was connected to possible drug traffickers, and regularly used a private airplane that was caught attempting to transport large amounts of cocaine internationally.

In 2013, two French pilots were captured as they attempted to fly 680 kilos of cocaine out of the Dominican Republic in an airplane that is closely tied to Sarkozy and a company owned by one of his very close associates. Just last week, these pilots escaped from the country and are nowhere to be found. Many suspect that high-ranking politicians were able to use their clout to help them escape.

The judge in the case ordered that two cellphones owned by Sarkozy be seized by police, as well as his phone records, and even his GPS location data. It is likely that investigators will attempt to use the GPS location data to place Sarkozy at the scene of the crime during the time that one of the large deals was happening.

The court order demanded “details of telephone lines used by Nicolas Sarkozy and his entourage in the period March 2013 and March 2014,” as well as “detailed bills” and “geolocalization for the months of March and April 2013.”

The Dassault Falcon 50 jet that was raided on a Dominican Republic Airfield on March 19, 2013, was regularly used by Sarkozy, and there is a trail of paperwork connecting him and his associates to the aircraft. He is also known to have been on the jet on several different occasions while the operations were occurring, flying at least three times between December 2012 and February 2013. Ironically enough, he was taking those flights to defend himself in corruption cases that were entirely unrelated to the drug smuggling.

After the pilots were able to escape prosecution, French newspapers reported that they had the help of an “unknown politician” and a number of former naval intelligence officers.

Sarkozy is well-known for his history of corruption and has been facing numerous criminal charges since he lost his presidential immunity from prosecution in 2012. However, Sarkozy still plans on running for president in 2017, and he believes that he is popular enough to get elected.

This may seem out of the ordinary, but we actually regularly report on politicians all over the world getting caught up in drug smuggling scandals.

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IMF’s Lagarde under investigation in French fraud case

Comment: The Grand Occultist herself appears to have misread her own predictions...

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Business Insider

International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde has been placed under formal investigation by French magistrates for negligence in a political fraud affair dating from 2008 when she was finance minister, her lawyer said on Wednesday.

Lawyer Yves Repiquet told Reuters that Lagarde, who this week was questioned by magistrates in Paris for a fourth time under her existing status as a witness in the long-running saga, said the step was unfounded.

"We are appealing it," Repiquet said by telephone, adding that Lagarde, who was due to return to IMF headquarters in Washington later on Wednesday, had no plans to resign.

In French law, magistrates place someone under formal investigation when they believe there are indications of wrongdoing, but that does not always lead to a trial.

The inquiry relates to allegations tycoon Bernard Tapie, a supporter of conservative ex-president Nicolas Sarkozy, was improperly awarded 403 million euros in an arbitration to settle a dispute with now defunct, state-owned bank Credit Lyonnais.

The inquiry has already embroiled several of Sarkozy's cabinet members and France Telecom CEO Stephane Richard, who was an aide to Lagarde when she was Sarkozy's finance minister.

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Former French President Sarkozy In Police Custody

Comment: Sarkozy is the classic psychopathic Napoleon. The abuse of power is second nature. The crimes of which he is guilty are  legion so it's interesting to see him getting questioned. Where it will lead is another matter...

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New York Times

 

Mr. Sarkozy, who led France’s most prominent conservative party, was questioned a day after investigators questioned Mr. Herzog, Mr. Azibert and another magistrate. Under French law, the subject of an investigation can be arrested and questioned for up to 24 hours, with a possible extension of another day, without being formally charged with a crime.

Nicolas Sarkozy, the former president of France, was detained for questioning by French anticorruption investigators on Tuesday as part of an inquiry into breach of judicial secrecy and influence peddling, a senior prosecutor said.

Éliane Houlette, the national prosecutor in charge of financial corruption cases, said in a telephone interview Tuesday that Mr. Sarkozy had been detained for questioning at 8 a.m. She did not provide further details.

The anticorruption police are trying to establish whether Mr. Sarkozy, with the help of his lawyer Thierry Herzog, tried to obtain information from a well-placed magistrate, Gilbert Azibert, about an investigation that ensnared the former president.

Under French criminal law, influence peddling, or abuse of power in seeking to gain a favorable decision from a public authority or administration, is punishable by five years in prison and a fine of as much as 500,000 euros, or $684,000. 

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Merkel and Sarkozy’s “Dinner” becomes cult net hit

Euro News

A German reworking of a 1960s British comedy sketch has become an internet hit.

The original Dinner for One is already cult viewing on New Year’s Eve in Germany and many Scandinavian countries.

In the new version, renamed “the 90th Euro Rescue Summit or Euros for No-one,” the heads of Nicolas Sarkozy and Angela Merkel have been superimposed on the 18-minute film’s two characters.

Merkel plays the original 90-year-old Miss Sophie in assuming her friends are there but talks of the former Greek and Spanish prime ministers. She also reprimands an absent British prime minister saying that German would be spoken at the table.

And true to the original, Sarkozy the butler ends up worse for wear having drunk for all his mistress’ guests, and then he is warned by Merkel to think about his credit rating!

Billionaire French hotelier shot dead 'in professional hit'

Another bites the dust....

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Telegraph

The lifeless body of Claude Dray, 76, was found with three bullet holes in the neck in Neuilly-sur-Seine, the Paris suburb where President Nicolas Sarkozy built his career and still owns property.

A butler found Dray's corpse at 9am on Tuesday following a death that had all the hallmarks of a professional hit.

Dray, one of the most prominent Jews in France, had been the subject of threats in the past. His palatial villa – which was called Madrid – was considered one of the most secure in the French capital.

It was regularly surrounded by police and private security guards, and is equipped with anti-intruder measures including cameras and infra-red alarms. 

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Washington is conquering Africa using France, Israel, bogus human rights agencies and terrorists

 An unidentified U.S. soldier training Mali army troops allegedly to combat Al-Qaeda terrorists. The training is part of an overall expansion of U.S. military "assistance" to Africa — including arms sales and training programs — in the period since President Obama took office. (Photo: Luc Gnago/Reuters)

Voltairenet

Creating terror groups in order to justify a fight against terrorism has become the modus operandi of the US government in Afghanistan and Pakistan, Europe and more recently in Africa. Along with French videographer Julien Teil, Nazemroaya weaves the incredible-but-true scenario of US-sponsored terrorists wanted by Interpol, who have become the chief protagonists in the NATO genocide currently unfolding in Libya.

A repeat of the disorder and pandemonium generated inside Afghanistan is in the works for the continent of Africa. The United States, with the help of Britain, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, created the brutal Taliban and then eventually waged war on its Taliban allies. Similarly, across Africa, the United States and its allies are creating a new series of future enemies to fight, but after initially working with them or using them to sow the seeds of chaos in Africa.

Washington has literally been helping fund insurgencies and regime change projects in Africa. “Human rights” and “democratization” are also being used as a smokescreen for colonialism and war. So-called human rights and humanitarian organizations are now partners in this imperialist project against Africa.

France and Israel: Is Washington Outsourcing its Dirty Work in Africa?

Africa is just one international front for an expanding system of empire. The mechanisms of a real global system of empire are at work in this regard. Washington is acting through NATO and its allies in Africa. Each one of Washington’s allies and satellites has a specific role to play in the global system of empire.

Tel Aviv has played a very active role on the African continent. Israel was a major unapologetic supporter of South Africa under the racist apartheid system. Tel Aviv also helped smuggle arms into Sudan and East Africa to balkanize that sizeable African nation and destabilize its region.The Israelis have been very active in Kenya and Uganda, for example. The Israeli presence has also existed wherever blood diamonds and conflicts have been present in Africa. Israel is also now working with Washington to establish total hegemony over the African continent. It is actively involved through its business ties and intelligence operations in establishing the contacts and agreements that Washington needs for expansion in Africa and to disrupt the rise of Chinese influence.

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Les commémorations orwelliennes du 11-Septembre annoncent de nouvelles guerres

Voltairenet

Le dixième anniversaire des attentats du 11-Septembre donne lieu à une débauche d’articles, de documentaires et de programmes audio-visuels pour certifier la version bushienne des événements, alors que l’opinion publique mondiale est devenue majoritairement sceptique. Pour Thierry Meyssan, qui est à l’origine du débat mondial sur l’interprétation des attentats, cette écrasante campagne médiatique est l’ultime tentative du système impérial pour préserver son apparente légitimité et justifier ses prochaines guerres. 

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58 % des Français doutent de la version officielle des attentats du 11-Septembre
Sondage HEC Jr Conseil pour ReOpen911

Démolition contrôlée
L’art de la Guerre

Projection à Paris de « The 9/11 Blackbox »

« The 9/11 Black Box », présenté au Festival de Cannes

Have lobby, will travel

atimes.com/

We interrupt the global fascination with the non-stop psycho drama of the DSK (Dominique Strauss-Kahn) case - Was he "a perv?" Was she "a hooker"? Was there a conspiracy? - to inform how a post-modern "kinetic military action" is won; in the public relations arena, where else.

This implies that the DSK powerful white male/poor African woman combat in a Manhattan hotel suite does indeed match the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) war on Libya; no matter what happened or happens, the party with the best "com" - or able to recruit the best PR team - wins.

This also proves that the much-incensed Libyan "rebels" - that dodgy bunch of opportunist defectors, Central Intelligence Agency assets, jihad-related Salafi clerics and greedy tribal leaders - is not as pure and innocent as the massive Western propaganda barrage would like world public opinion to believe.

And this also explains why the "rebels" have once again rejected a sensible peace plan proposed by the African Union (AU) late last week - immediate ceasefire, deployment of a United Nations peacekeeping force, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi staying out of transition negotiations - as a "non-starter". They'd rather spin another "massive" offensive towards Tripoli, with weapons - illegally - supplied by neo-Napoleonic Nicolas Sarkozy's France and the inevitable NATO air strikes.

Bets can be made that this "offensive" - essentially groups of spirited fighters with AK-47s in pick-up trucks against Gaddafi's Soviet Grad missiles with a range of nearly 40 kilometers - will hardly move the de facto border in the Gulf of Sirte between Tripolitania - controlled by the Gaddafi regime - and Cyrenaica.

We want the money

The "rebel" government - which is now named, after numerous permutations, the Interim Transitional National Council of Libya - has hired Patton Boggs, one of Washington's leading (and one of the most profitable) PR firms, to "advise and assist" them in, well, winning the war - or at least providing the illusion they are winning the war (shades of NATO's PR campaign in Afghanistan).

Patton Boggs is already furiously lobbying for the "rebels" to be globally accepted as the "legitimate government of the sovereign nation of Libya". The agreement was signed between Patton Boggs and former Libyan ambassador Ali Suleiman Aujali, the "rebel" top dog in the US. Senior partner Thomas Hale Boggs Jr will be in charge of the account.

Italy, Britain, France, Qatar and now Turkey have already recognized the Interim Transitional National Council; the Barack Obama administration has already allowed them to open a Washington office. But inevitably this is most of all about money; what the council wants are the billions of dollars in frozen funds from the Gaddafi regime held in the US.

Patton Boggs, by some reports, bags a maximum of US$50,000 a month - charged by the hour. The "rebels" will only pay when they have funds - virtually dry at the moment. For nearly three months they've already had another top Washington PR firm, The Harbour Group, spinning their case on a pro-bono basis - especially on that crucial "unfreeze the funds" front.

It's relevant to note that one of the Patton Boggs lobbyists already involved with the "rebels" is Vincent Frillici, a former director of operations at NATO for the alliance's 50th Anniversary Host Committee. That's sweet; a NATO-connected lobbyist selling Libya's alleged popular/indigenous uprising.

So thanks to a Washington lobbyist paradise, the US government will eventually recognize one belligerent side of a northern African civil war, represented by a shady "council" - and enable them to grab billions of dollars to, as the spin goes, "help the Libyan people".

Screw that American boat

A quick look at the facts on the ground would rather suggest a neo-colonial agenda of bribing mercenaries to topple the regime - as unsavory as it may be - of an energy-wealthy country that wouldn't play ball with the International Monetary Fund, and wanted to form a union of African countries that would not sell their natural resources for anything but gold.

Meanwhile, the same rebel-happy US government refuses to admit that the Israeli blockade of Gaza is illegal. As the irrepressible former Central Intelligence Agency analyst Ray McGovern - on board the Audacity of Hope boat trying to sail to Gaza - has written on Commondreams.org, "Before leaving the United States, I was cautioned by a source with access to very senior staffers at the National Security Council that not only does the White House plan to do absolutely nothing to protect our boat from Israeli attack or illegal boarding, but that White House officials 'would be happy if something happened to us'."

So the White House, as McGovern was told, is "perfectly willing to have the cold corpses of [American] activists shown on American TV" - while showering lavish praise on a dodgy "council" eager to feast on Libya's wealth.

Tibetans, Uyghurs, Burmese, Uzbeks, Chechens and countless others may be eagerly reading the writing on the wall. Wanna start a revolution? Do it in English - not your local language. Trouble with the concept? Invoke "R2P" ("responsibility to protect") and Western powers will be knocking at your door in no time, UN resolution in hand and Robocop NATO ready to roll. Can't afford to buy guns? Do it the Libyan "rebel" way - hire a powerful Washington lobbyist to sell you as legitimate and thus enabled to plunder your central government's resources.

None of this applies, of course, if your patch of land is not drenched in oil.

Sarko attacked. The moment French President was grabbed by his lapels and sent flying by a very disgruntled voter during a walkabout

Expect to see more and more of this...

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dailymail.co.uk/

This is the moment the president of France was grabbed by his lapels and thrown towards the ground.

Nicolas Sarkozy, 55, had been shaking hands with supporters across a barrier during the walkabout today when the man lunged forward and placed a hand on the president's shoulder.

A shocked Sarkozy was then sent hurtling backwards as security guards scrambled through the crowds in Brax, near Toulouse, to catch the attacker.

'President Sarkozy was shaking hands with people across a crash barrier when he was attacked,' said an onlooker.

'The man reached out as if he wanted to shake the President's hand, but then he grabbed him by the suit lapel and sent him flying.

'Plain-clothes security guards moved in immediately and bundled the attacker to the grounds. The President looked very shaken and white-faced, but otherwise he looked unhurt.'

An Elysee Palace source in Paris confirmed that the attacker had been restrained by four members of the presidential security and protection service. 

He said the unnamed attacker, who is French and a local man, was now in custody in nearby Agen. 

'He was taken away very quickly, allowing President Sarkozy to continue with his walk-about,' said the Elysee source.

The man faces up to three years in prison and a 45,000 euros (£40,000) fine if found guilty of assaulting a public figure, said a judicial source in Paris. 

Mr Sarkozy's aggressive manner has led to frequent unpleasant incidents while on walk-about.

In 2008 he was involved in a crude slanging match with a member of the public at a farm show in Paris, telling him: 'Get lost, you poor cretin'.

Earlier in his presidency, Mr Sarkozy threatened to have a fight with a fisherman who had been baiting him about his high salary.

Mr Sarkozy has also frequently had projectiles including coins and stones thrown at him during trips to high-rise housing estates around major cities. 

He also caused widespread anger as Interior Minister by describing a gang of his young tormentors as 'scum'. 

Death threats including bullets have also been received for Mr Sarkozy at the Elysee Palace.

Despite all this, today is the first time anybody is thought to have got close enough to physically attack the President.

Earlier this year it emerged that Mr Sarkozy was starting to use a £10,000 bullet-proof umbrella to protect him from attackers.

It followed opinion polls which portrayed him as the most unpopular head of state in recent Gallic history.

The umbrella is carried by security guards who have to be taller than the 5ft 5ins president. 

The so called 'Para Pactum' – Latin for 'prepare for peace' – is coated in Kevlar, a high strength material originally used as a replacement for steel in motor racing wheels. 

It was not thought to have been needed today because Brax was considered a peaceful small town, and the hot summer weather would have made an umbrella look incongruous, said the Elysee source.

The hand of Mr Sarkozy's attacker can be seen on the president's shoulder, taking a good grip of his suit

With a fierce tug, the president is pulled towards the crowd of onlookers

The president recoils, with the officials behind him still apparently oblivious to the altercation

The president's men react, as Sarkozy pulls himself free

Vidéo de l'agression sur Nicolas Sarkozy à Brax 

 

As world burns, G8 leaders fiddle ... with the Internet. Seriously?

Christian Science Monitor

Sarkozy, Obama, and the other leaders at the G8 should be evaluating the policies that have brought them to the brink of financial ruin. Unfortunately, their attention will be elsewhere: on Internet regulation, for one thing.

President Obama will join other G8 leaders today at the posh, French seaside resort of Deauville. On the agenda: proposed global regulations for the Internet, post-tsunami Japan, and military escapades in North Africa. Bizarrely absent from the top priorities listed by hosting head of state Nicolas Sarkozy is the most urgent issue of all: the need to rein in massive government over-spending and debt.

One needn't travel to France to get a clear view of this problem. Here in the US, for example, federal revenues will top $2 trillion this year, but federal spending will approach double that amount. Such reckless spending has set the stage for a battle royal between Democrats and Republicans over raising the national-debt ceiling.

House Speaker John Boehner (R) of Ohio has correctly warned that increasing the debt ceiling without a firm commitment to slash spending would signal to investors that America still is not serious about kicking its spending addiction. ....

 

France: Internet Needs Government Role to Avoid 'Anarchy,' Sarkozy Says

 Suuuuuure.....

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Gregory Viscusi
Bloomberg
Tue, 24 May 2011

The Internet needs government involvement to reach its full potential of linking people and boosting economic growth, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said.

"Now that the Internet is an integral part of most people's lives, it would be contradictory to exclude governments," Sarkozy today said at a Paris forum of Internet companies. "Nobody should forget that these governments are the only legitimate representatives of the will of the people in our democracies. To forget this is to risk democratic chaos and hence anarchy."

In his speech to 1,500 delegates at the e-G8 Forum, which is being held before a summit of Group of Eight leaders this week in Deauville, France, Sarkozy said rules were needed to protect copyrights, prevent monopolies and keep harmful material out of the hands of children.

"We won't take steps that would damage growth in your industry," he told executives. Among those scheduled to participate were Facebook Inc. founder Mark Zuckerberg, Google Inc. (GOOG) Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt and News Corp. (NWSA) Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Rupert Murdoch. "But you can't escape a minimum set of rules."

While never mentioning taxes directly, Sarkozy mentioned the costs taxpayers bear in supporting the industry.

"States invest in training programs for those who then join your companies," he said. "States invest in the technical and technological infrastructure that provide transport for the services and content that are circulated on the Web."

Sarkozy said the Internet had changed the world as much as the voyages of explorers such as Christopher Columbus. "In a few years, you have rocked the very foundations of the world economy in which you now play a major role," he said.