over island coup
The Times June 21, 2006
From Adam Sage in Paris
COVERT attempts by President Chirac to exert influence over Africa were exposed by a French court yesterday, when it denounced his secret services for conniving with a band of mercenaries in a coup in the tiny Comoros Islands.
In a damning ruling, the Paris Criminal Tribunal said that the French authorities had given at least tacit approval to the 1995 coup led by Bob Denard, the best-known French soldier of fortune.
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Although France has long been accused of secret operations to maintain its influence in Africa, the ruling constituted an unprecedented, public condemnation of these practices. It was particularly embarrassing for M Chirac, who has sought to portray himself as one of the Third World’s greatest advocates in the West.
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Denard, one of France’s most colourful figures, spent 30 years in Africa’s battlefields, where he was often suspected of acting on behalf of the French authorities. He was involved in a total of four coups or attempted coups in Comoros Islands after they won independence from France in 1975.
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http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-2235653,00.html