Post date: Apr 03, 2013 1:58:7 PM
The admission by a French former budget minister that he held a secret foreign bank account sends shockwaves through the country's government -- and beyond.
PARIS, FRANCE (APRIL 3, 2013) (REUTERS) - Former French budget minister Jerome Cahuzac's acknowledgement he had held an undisclosed foreign bank account sent shockwaves through the country's government on Wednesday (April 3).
Cahuzac's confirmation that he had around 600,000 euros in a foreign account was a reversal of his past denials that he held a secret Swiss account and dealt a blow to President Francois Hollande, who had promised an irreproachable team of ministers.French Finance Minister Moscovici who worked in close coordination with Cahuzac said he was hurt.
"He lied, he lied to the President of the Republic, he lied to the Prime Minister, he lied to the parliament, he lied to the French, he lied to you, he lied to me and not just once. Because obviously I was in touch with him on a daily basis, very often, with strength and conviction. My trust has been broken," he told RTL radio.
The affair, which sprung out of a report by French investigative news website Mediapart, comes asHollande's government battles to convince investors of its fiscal credibility and ability to rein in public finances.
French Consumer Affairs Minister Benoit Hamon said the news came as a complete surprise.
"My office was next to Jerome Cahuzac's, unless he went through a lie detector, I don't know how we could have known, he says it himself," he told reporters after a government cabinet meeting.
Cahuzac had already resigned as budget minister two weeks ago after French prosecutors began investigating accusations by Mediapart that he held an undeclared bank account in Switzerland.
His lawyer told Reuters that he had been placed under investigation - the final step in France before a suspect is accused of a crime and a court case opened.
French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he was concerned about how the affair would affect public opinion.
"What is especially terrible is the impact it has on the French. They will say, 'They're all rotten, we can't trust politicians', that's what we hear. And that is what is absolutely overwhelming," he said at a BFM TV morning programme.
Hollande said he was outraged by Cahuzac's admission, that had committed an "unpardonable moral error" by denying the existence of the account and it was now up to the justice system to do its job.
But opposition leader Jean-Francois Cope criticized what he said was either Hollande's oblivion or "naivety", saying it was now difficult to trust the government.
"A President of the Republic who, either knew nothing and that is extremely serious, because it means he displays a certain naivety, or he knew about it and lied to the French. I would like to say that at this stage, as much as it was acceptable until now to presume everyone's good faith, I think today and I think the French do as well -- whether they are of the Left or the Right -- we no longer know who we can trust in this government," he said to Europe 1 radio.