The former Minister Eric Woerth. / AFP
The former UMP minister Eric Woerth and former asset manager of billionaire Liliane Bettencourt, Patrice de Maistre, were back yesterday at the Bordeaux Criminal Court for ” influence peddling “.
The two men are charged with one possible arrangement, which would have seen the Legion d’Honneur in 2008 to M. de Maistre by the Minister Woerth in return for hiring his wife. Florence Woerth had indeed been used by companies managing Bettencourt’s fortune, including Mr. de Maistre was then the general manager.
This is the second part of the case Bettencourt, including the ” abuse of weakness “saw its river-trial to take place in January and February. As in the latter, the defense asked the court to declare the nullity of the order for reference, the case based on illegal recordings made by former butler Ms. Bettencourt, Pascal Bonnefoy.
The president of Denis Roucou Court recalled that the case started from the recordings, where Mr. de Maistre tells Bettencourt had hired Ms. Woerth in 2007 “on demand” of her husband, so that she ” did not fit the required profile, “according to the investigating judges.
The court then summarized the history of relations between the two men. In 2006 and 2007, Mr. de Maistre was part of the “inner circle” of donors of the UMP, which Mr Woerth was then treasurer. “There was a time when the coincidences are just coincidences,” replied Jean-Yves Le Borgne, Mr Woerth lawyer. The judgment will be delivered on May 28
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