Christine Lagarde, new managing director of the International Monetary Fund? An important decision is expected in Paris today, which could jeopardize the French Economy Minister's race to succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn.
The Court of Justice, the body empowered to judge ministers, should evaluate whether or not to open an inquiry into Lagarde regarding the Tapie affair. The controversial entrepreneur, who had bought the Adidas company, financed by the Crédit Lyonnais bank, was forced to sell in 1994. In the meantime, the public credit group slipped towards near bankruptcy. Tapie filed an appeal against the liquidator. And, in 2007, Lagarde decided to transfer the proceedings from ordinary justice to private arbitration. Which, the following year, granted the entrepreneur a mega-compensation (240 million euros, net of various pending cases, above all with the taxman).
According to Jean-Louis Nadal, of the Cassation, Lagarde wanted to favor Tapie, a friend of Nicolas Sarkozy. For this reason, the magistrate asked the Court of Justice to open an investigation. The decision is expected within the day.
