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Sarkozy's friend stripped of mayor post for bribing voters

Jun 9, 2009, 8:10 GMT

Paris - French entrepreneur Serge Dassault, a close friend of President Nicolas Sarkozy, has been stripped of his mayor's post in Corbeil-Essonnes, near Paris, for bribing voters, French media reported Tuesday. France's highest administrative court, the Council of State, annulled Dassault's victory in the 2008 mayoralty election because of 'gifts of money (to voters) on a significant scale.' Dassault, 84, the owner of the daily Le Figaro, had won the election by 170 votes out of 13,455 cast over his Communist Party opponent, Bruno Piriou. The Council of State also declared Dassault ineligible for any political post for one year. This means that he will be unable to stand for mayor when a new election is held, within three months according to law. However, Piriou was also declared ineligible for political office for one year because his election expense accounts failed to mention the charges for the rental of a sports arena used for a campaign rally. Le Figaro reported that Dassault, who is a member of Sarkozy's UMP party, will keep his seat in the French Senate. He had been mayor of Corbeil-Essonnes since 1995.

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Sarkozy's friend stripped of mayor post for bribing voters

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