Word: de
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...De Villepin emphatically denied having cooked up any scandal when he was given the list, and only learned much later that it was a hoax. A tribunal of three judges believed that position, clearing de Villepin of charges that included complicity to slander, use of forgeries and stolen property, and breach of trust. Three other defendants in the case, however, were convicted for their roles in composing and circulating the fake list. "After many years of torment, my innocence has been recognized," a solemn but relieved-looking de Villepin said outside the same courtroom where Marie-Antoinette was sentenced...
...foes really forget? A longtime supporter and adviser to Chirac, de Villepin shares his former boss's hatred of Sarkozy. While still president, Chirac urged de Villepin to position himself as a possible leader in part to block the popular Sarkozy...
...before that happened, de Villepin, then Foreign Minister, came into the forged list containing Sarkozy's name. Once that was leaked to and investigated by the French media, Sarkozy found himself cast in the role of victim of an apparent conspiracy to wreck his political career. (Read: "Sarkozy Backs Appointment...
...Those roles have since reversed. Sarkozy went on to capture the presidency, and eventually became a civil party to the criminal case built against de Villepin. Both Sarkozy and the politically appointed prosecutor in the case violated presumption of innocence rules by referring to de Villepin as guilty before the trial had even ended...
...De Villepin himself then painted an image of a political show trial by declaring his troubles were due to "the dogged determination of one man, Nicolas Sarkozy" - who, de Villepin reminded journalists covering the trial, had once pledged to "hang up whoever did this to me from a butcher's hook". Little wonder, then, that even in claiming to turn the page, de Villepin made his view clear that he'd survived Sarkozy's political assassination attempt. "I salute the courage of the tribunal, which allowed justice and law to prevail over politics," the silvery-haired de Villepin said after...