cinedisc.us

We all know the story, but in case you don't, here it is again:

Bernard Tapie, a free-wheeling businessman and Socialist Party faithful, was chosen by then- President of France Francois Mitterand to be one of his new ministers. The only problem was that Tapie owned a German company called Adidas, which could represent a conflict of interest in handling his new duties. The arrangement was made to sell Adidas through the Credit Lyonnais bank and Tapie would be scotfree to pursue his ministerial post. The deal set, everybody agreed, Bernard Tapie received some 300-odd million euros. Problems arose when Adidas was resold 1 year later for 715 million euros and Tapie was not included in the profit accrued. He cried foul, and has been fighting ever since, setback after setback, to win his just due, through the French courts, and through back-door French party politics.

During the years of the other party in power (The Chirac Years and the 1 term of Sarkozy, both from the party on the right), the Socialists paid lip-service to the fact that Bernard Tapie had been dealt a wrong hand in his effort to serve his country, by selling his company ( and receiving less money than he should've) so that he could become a minister in Mitterand's government. The Socialists were not ready, however, to join Tapie in his fight for his rights, in the courts, in the Senate or the Assembly. It was as if they shunned him and hoped he would just quietly go away.

Part of the shunning occurred when Bernard Tapie was found guilty by the French courts of having influenced a referee and players to turn a football match in favor of the OM Marseille football team, when Mister Tapie was their president. He spent years in fighting the case, and 10 months in prison when found guilty.

Out of prison, Tapie never gave up his fight to get paid the money he felt he had been cheated out of by the sale of Adidas the second time so short after his selling the company to the bank for half the amount of money he received initially. He had a tenacious (and faithful) lawyer, Maurice Lantourne, who stood by him through the years after the sale. Together, Tapie's and Lantourne's private, public & political connections, won Bernard Tapie his day in court, and in July 2008, he was awarded 415 million euros. In July 2013 Bernard Tapie was put in prison 4 days in Paris under what the French call '*garde à vu", and released with charges of 'organized bank fraud' and 'escroquerie' sitting on his shoulders. His attorney Maurice Lantourne was also imprisoned, along with four other persons. Charged with 'organized bank fraud' as well were the head of the arbitration committee that awarded Tapie this money as well as the ex-'chef of departement', Ministry Of Finance, Richard Ahearne, who worked as no. 2 under then-French finance Minister Christine LaGarde ( in the Sarkozy government ).