Special Report
Last modification: 09/06/11
The Bettencourt scandal: Politics, cash and cosmetics
The Bettencourt scandal: France’s richest woman, the country’s former Labour Minister Eric Woerth, and President Nicolas Sarkozy have all been linked to a murky affair involving allegations of tax evasion and taking illegal campaign cash...
 
FRANCE

L'Oreal heiress scandal is back in the headlines

The daughter of France’s richest woman, L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, is once again trying to have her mother made a ward of court in an effort to protect her inheritance. The scandal has dominated French headlines since summer 2010.
Billionaire Bettencourt reconciles with daughter
France

Billionaire Bettencourt reconciles with daughter

L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, France’s richest woman, reconciled with her daughter on Monday and agreed to end all ongoing court cases. Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers had tried to declare her mother “mentally unfit” to handle her fortune.
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'Mr Perfect' casts pall over Sarkozy's 'irreproachable Republic'
FRANCE

'Mr Perfect' casts pall over Sarkozy's 'irreproachable Republic'

The storm engulfing a key ally of French President Nicolas Sarkozy has revived widespread cynicism in a country accustomed to politico-financial scandals, and undermined Sarkozy’s efforts to give his administration a cleaner image.
L'Oreal heiress tells police that financing politics is not her 'centre of interest'
FRANCE

L'Oreal heiress tells police that financing politics is not her 'centre of interest'

Questioned by police on Monday over allegations of illegal donations to Nicolas Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign, L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt (photo) said financing politics was not her "centre of interest".
Police search Sarkozy party HQ in L’Oreal investigation
FRANCE

Police search Sarkozy party HQ in L’Oreal investigation

UMP party chief Xavier Bertrand (pictured) says that police searched the party headquarters in Paris on Wednesday as part of their ongoing investigation into the alleged involvement of Labour Minister Eric Woerth in the L'Oreal scandal.
Swiss to cooperate in L'Oreal heiress investigation
FRANCE

Swiss to cooperate in L'Oreal heiress investigation

Switzerland is cooperating with a French investigation into the financial assets of L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt. A Geneva judge says the inquiry is on whether Europe's richest woman was "cheated or abused in the management of her assets."
FRANCE

Judge rejects legal guardianship of L'Oréal heiress

L'Oreal fund manager's claims turn up heat on labour minister
FRANCE

L'Oreal fund manager's claims turn up heat on labour minister

The finance manager for France's richest woman says Labour Minister Eric Woerth (left) sought career advice for his wife, Florence (right), months before she was hired to help manage the L'Oreal heiress's fortune, Le Monde news daily said Saturday.
Police release l'Oreal quartet after two days of questioning
FRANCE

Police release l'Oreal quartet after two days of questioning

Four associates of l'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, including her financial adviser Patrice de Maistre, have been released after they were questioned by police for 36 hours in connection with a tax fraud scandal that has rocked the government.
FRANCE

Sarkozy refutes corruption charges in live TV interview

André Bettencourt: political patronage and the extreme right
FRANCE

André Bettencourt: political patronage and the extreme right

The late André Bettencourt, husband of L’Oreal Heiress Liliane and at the centre of the latest revelations of dodgy dealings in French politics, had a murky history of far-right politics and freewheeling political patronage.
Analysis
Power, pennies and politics
IN THE PAPERS
Power, pennies and politics
How a start-up news site broke and rode the Bettencourt scandal
FRANCE
How a start-up news site broke and rode the Bettencourt scandal
The heiress, the butler, the minister: Who's who in the Bettencourt trial
FRANCE
The heiress, the butler, the minister: Who's who in the Bettencourt trial
Ministers resign: Two down, now will the big fish fry?
FRANCE
Ministers resign: Two down, now will the big fish fry?
What the butler heard: L’Oreal heiress' tax scandal taints minister
FRANCE
What the butler heard: L’Oreal heiress' tax scandal taints minister
The Bettencourt scandal: Sarkozy and the media face off
FRANCE
The Bettencourt scandal: Sarkozy and the media face off
Going Deeper
FRANCE
Photographer accused of exploiting L'Oreal heiress goes on trial
FRANCE
Embattled labour minister to step down as Sarkozy party treasurer