September 13, 2010
France's most respected newspaper has accused Nicolas Sarkozy of ordering the counterintelligence services to spy on one of its reporters.
Quoting a law enacted during Sarkozy's presidency, Le Monde said it was suing for breach of confidentiality of sources linked to one of the most embarrassing scandals to hit the government.
The paper claimed that the DCRI, the equivalent of Britain's MI5 domestic secret service, had broken the law by investigating the source of leaks related to claims of tax evasion and illegal party funding by the L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt. "The law is absolutely clear. 'The confidentiality of journalists' sources is protected in the exercise of their mission to inform the public'," wrote Le Monde in its editorial.
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