UNEDITED TELEVISION SCRIPT

Laure Manaudou reveals today in Le Parisien/Aujourd’hui en France that she is ending her swimming career. The 22 year old has had a glittering career. She won Olympic gold in Athens in 2004 at just 17 years old. The same year she was triple European champion. In 2006 she beat the world record for the 400m freestyle. In 2007 double world champion and in 2008 double European champion.

Having taken a break from swimming in January, she told today’s Le Parisien that she now has no desire to return to the sport. She spoke about having reached breaking point - her head and her body couldn’t take it anymore. Perhaps the signs were already there at the Beijing Olympics where she under-performed finishing last in the 400m freestyle final. She says she now feels ‘liberated’.

Jean Claude Dassier is stoking controversy in Marseille as l'Equipe reports. The President of football club, Olympique de Marseille declared earlier this week that he would not be a club President in the Lebanese or African style…This seemed to hint at the former club President, Pape Diouf’s Senegalese origins. Diouf has responded angrily, saying ““His words have no place and I am deeply offended.”

Dessier has tried to clear up the misunderstanding saying that in Lebanese politics, nothing gets done while in Africa it’s often undemocratic. He wants to ensure that the “sporting, commercial and communication arms of the club work together.”

Marseille is a city with a history of immigration and Pape Diouf is hugely popular. On the other hand, Dassier is the incarnation of what is known as the ‘Paris clan’ and is seen as a complete outsider. His comments have only added to that view.

The fugitive, Jean-Pierre Treiber makes the front page of local paper l’Yonne Républicaine this morning. The suspected double murdered escaped from prison sealed inside a cardboard box a couple of weeks ago. He has now written to the weekly magazine Marianne declaring his innocence and saying he will attend his trial. The letter was posted from Jura in eastern France perplexing investigators who thought he was still at large somewhere in Bourgogne. Oddest of all, Treiber addressed the letter to the magazine’s food critic!

 
Is Nicolas Sarkozy going to be grandfather? Aujourd’hui en France carries an interview with his 23 year old son, Jean Sarkozy, a local representative in the Paris suburb of Neuilly. Asked whether or not he is soon to be a father, he replied, “I prefer not to talk about my private life, even if there are certain things that can’t be kept hidden for too long!”