My lawyers predicts it will still at least ten years

It is 4: 30 pm yesterday, the Commission of Finance of the Assembly, when Bernard Tapie a little excited. His hearing has begun since more than a thirty hour and he managed to not divest a polite smile and a scrupulous and gentle attention meet details raised by members, mostly suspicious against him so far. But again, the slip the fact stammered. Charles de Courson (new Centre) asked what was his interest to resort to arbitration, where he has continued to explain that the decisions of the ordinary courts had all been positive.

"There is only one answer." I have sixty-five years. The procedure began when I was fifty. My lawyers predicts it will still at least ten years. I would have had forty years, I would have, but here I have sixty-five years, the time file, and you know well, the time it is, um... "Money A few seconds later, he resumed, laughter flowed in the room, he comes to understand that it gives water to the mill of detractors, who suspect a "political" agreement decided at the Summit of the State back afloat financially. "I wanted to share time running against a certainty of risk limitation", continued, again totally controlled, technical.

Bird names

Technical, as was essentially the game announced bloody between Bernard Tapie and Jean Peyrelevade, given a hearing separately by the Finance Committee, after the arbitral award made in July condemning CDR (public institution that manages Credit Lyonnais liabilities) to be paid 285 million euros (approximately 400 with interest) to the liquidators of the Bernard Tapie group, on the grounds that the public ex-banque it was cheated in the sale of Adidas in 1992 - 1993. The hearing of Jean Peyrelevade, former President of Credit Lyonnais, lasted two and a half hours, that of Bernard Tapie almost four and, in both cases, the essential was for members to try to understand the conditions in which the sale of Adidas took place.

Bird names flowed well. "The incompetent and Liars": this is how Jean Peyrelevade referred to three arbitrators of the case (Pierre Mazeaud, Jean-Denis Bredin and Pierre Estoup). Bernard Tapie, he denounced twice its "mafia" of the system established by the Credit Lyonnais, which resorted to offshore banks. He is is also insurgent "almost perfect"organized crime, according to him, by the Lyonnais for the Rob.

A little themselves overwhelmed by the technical nature of the Assembly, deputies tried to refocus the debate on political issues. François Bayrou, who had exchanged his place in the commission of Social Affairs with another MP Modem in order to integrate the finance, reported on the internal notes Credit Lyonnais showing, according to him, the virtual State where was Adidas sale. Justice did not accept these notes, said Bernard Tapie, which ensures that the only reason why he sold was related to his position of Minister of the watercress.

The head of the much criticized State

In the end, the game has really illuminated case. The most active protagonists continued it in the media, showing also much more explicit in the mis en cause of Nicolas Sarkozy. First Slayer, François Bayrou said that the head of State had been "directly involved" in the arbitration. "In the Republic, today, it doesn't move a paperclip without any notice of the Elysee Palace, then you imagine 400 million euros", launched on LCI, relaying comments made by Jean Peyrelevade, Vice-President of the Modem: "I am sure this is Nicolas Sarkozy, the first, while he was Minister of finance, which proposed a conciliation." François Hollande (PS) found him if Bernard Tapie "played according to its interests", "it's the political power that allowed him to get what he wanted." Criticism that Bernard Tapie continues to sweep: "at no time, strictly at any time, you can see the hand of the power in the decision to arbitration", he said yesterday. Word against Word.

The members present yesterday came away with a new ground of reflection: the possibility of a remedy would perhaps not totally absurd. In the morning, reopened the hearing of a Professor of law (see opposite) has a few tracks. How far will they go