Looks like that senator-for-life thing isn't panning out for Jack.

CHIRAC WANTS ALLY FOR 'SLEAZE' JOB
The President Is Suspected [!] Of Trying To Avoid Charges [!]
With His Candidate For Chief State Prosecutor

September 11, 2006 (Times Online) – President Chirac was accused yesterday of manoeuvring his former legal adviser into a key judicial post to avoid being tried on corruption charges after leaving office and losing immunity from prosecution. M Chirac was seeking to appoint Laurent Le Mesle as the chief state prosecutor in Paris [Procureur de la République de Paris]. If confirmed by the Cabinet next month, M Le Mesle will have a decisive role in determining whether the President should be prosecuted in connection with corruption allegations when he steps down.

M Chirac is alleged to have known about — and benefited from — all three affairs.* He is also suspected of involvement in a fourth scandal relating to the manipulation of electoral lists in Paris, which will come to trial this month [following a 17-year delay].

M Chirac’s critics believe that M Le Mesle, 55, will do everything in his power to block action, given his close relations with the head of state. He was an adviser on legal matters to the presidency between 2002 and 2004 and now serves as the head of the private Cabinet of Pascal Clément, M Chirac’s Justice Minister.

"This appointment is shocking," said Dominique Barella, the head of the Union of Magistrates, which is campaigning against the appointment. "The problem is Laurent Le Mesle’s extreme proximity with the Minister of Justice, and especially with the President of the Republic."

The good news is the desperate appointment is a clear sign Jack will not stand for a third term. It appears to have finally sunk in that he is not re-electable, so best put the fix in while the fixing's good.

* No-show jobs for party members (Chirac confidant and former PM, Alain Juppé convicted 2004, plus 26 others); kickbacks for municipal school contracts (Jack's former chief of staff, Michel Roussin convicted 2005, plus 42 others); kickbacks for public housing contracts (Jack confidant, Georges Pérol convicted 2006, plus 37 others).

PFFT (What is this?): End-running republican égalité 4 | Rayonnement français 0