Acquittal for Former French PM in Corruption Trial
Félix de Belloy won an acquittal for Edouard Balladur
before the Court of Justice of the Republic in the former French
prime minister s trial over allegations that he financed his
1995 presidential campaign with illegal kickbacks from
international arms deals. On March 4, a 15-judge panel exonerated
the 91-year-old politician after 20 years of public accusations.
The Court found that Balladur was never involved in a fraudulent
system of kickbacks; that financing for his presidential campaign
in 1995 was lawful; and that he was not responsible, even
indirectly, for a bombing in Karachi, Pakistan in 2002 that had