A Tale of Two Cities

[AlMel]

In London an ex-minister is jailed for lying about passing speeding points to his wife.

In Paris, the ex-Budget Minister (equivalent to the UK's Chief Secretary to the Treasury), who resigned only two weeks ago whilst emphatically protesting his innocence, has just admitted holding a secret offshore account containing €600,000. Allegations that he had such an account were revealed only thanks to an ‘online’ newspaper, outside the official established media.

The moral of this tale? That's for you to decide.

 

[trex]

Due process will take time. The French guy is accused of money laundering.
In the mean time, we all expect politicians to lie through their teeth every day.
Personally, I don't believe a word any of them ever say.

 

[Scimitar]

The French press are effectively gagged about reporting such stuff, aren't they, under so-called privacy laws.

 

[AlMel]

Yes, the French press is gagged. Another example is that of the ex-boss of the International Monetary Fund. Had his encounter of an interesting kind with a chambermaid occurred in a Paris hotel and not in one in New York, he would now probably be the country’s President.

Sending a senior politician to jail over a case of driving licence points, even one involving perjury, is seen by most over here as overkill, a typical case of British puritanism and trial by an unregulated press. Had it occurred in France, it is unlikely to have been reported (except perhaps by new, unofficial media).

As I mentioned elsewhere, the kind of detailed reporting of expenses, conflicts of interests and other measures to promote transparency now in place in Britain just don’t exist here. An attempt by some parliamentarians to introduce similar, although milder measures was heavily outvoted; on the basis that they attacked the right to personal privacy and encouraged voyeurism.

Perhaps it’s a tendency of politicians everywhere to lie; but I do believe that public affairs are far more transparent in Britain than they are here. Stay vigilant, but be thankful!