CORRUPTION:    Chirac's Immunity Is Over, But...
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PARIS, Jun 21 (IPS) - For the last six years, the date Jun. 16, 2007 was  the most awaited day by many in France. It was the day that ended  immunity for former president Jacques Chirac from pending  corruption cases over his 12-year mandate as head of state.
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Â· Ex-president questioned as immunity comes to endÂ· Party officials said to have been on Paris city payroll
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A financial scandal prompts a resurgence of antipathy to the unrestrained profit motive that President Sarkozy had championed
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French President Jacques Chirac announces his decision to bow out of politics in a televised address from the Elysee Palace on March 11.Comment
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CHILE&#39;S Supreme Court today lifted the immunity from prosecution of former dictator Augusto Pinochet, who faces criminal charges over the disappearance of political opponents during Operation Condor.
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"Whether you like it or not, it undermines the function of the president."  For Jacques Chirac, the legal clock is ticking: At midnight Saturday, the former French leader officially loses his presidential immunity, and could face investigators' questions _ or worse.Judges could come knocking over at least five cases involving suspected corruption and alleged financial misdeeds, most dating to Chirac's time as Paris mayor from 1977 to 1995 _ the year he became president.It's unlikely that Chirac, 74, would ever go to jail, but the cases loom as a humiliating coda to his four-decade political career. Since the Fifth Republic was founded in 1958, a former head of state has never been required to answer allegations of wrongdoing from earlier in his career. Read more
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The door has been opened for a possible return to national politics for former French Prime Minister Alain Juppe. A French appeals court has cut the initial sentence handed down to Juppe for his role in a party financing scandal.
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Former French President Jacques Chirac refuses to be quizzed about an alleged plot to discredit his successor.
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Jacques Chirac&#39;s presidential immunity  expires at midnight on Saturday, opening the way for judges to  question him over a string of investigations into alleged  corruption and other scandals in France.
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French President Jacques Chirac is expected to announce his retirement from frontline politics on Sunday after a 45-year career that was strong on symbolic gestures but short on concrete reforms.Comment
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SUPPORTERS of President Chirac will try to change the French Constitution this week to protect him from prosecution for political corruption as soon as he leaves office.
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Chileâs former President General Augusto Pinochet has been stripped of his legal immunity following a ruling by the countryâs Supreme Court.
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"In a spirit of clarity and responsibility I plan to remind the judges of this context, in the absence of which one understands nothing"  Former French president Jacques Chirac was questioned Thursday by a judge looking into a party funding scam dating from his time as mayor of Paris, judicial officials said. via Free Republic
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Chile's Supreme Court yesterday stripped former dictator Augusto Pinochet of immunity from prosecution, paving the way for possible trials of the 88-year-old general on charges of human rights abuses during his 17-year rule.
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French President Jacques Chirac's announcement that he will leave frontline politics brought no end to the controversy over his record and legacy on Monday.Comment
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French President Jacques Chirac is  expected to confirm on Sunday he will not seek reelection,  bringing the curtain down on more than 40 years of frontline  politics.
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Citing his past judicial immunity, former French President Jacques Chirac refused to be questioned in a probe into an apparent smear scandal involving his successor, his office said Friday.