French Get Busted

France's former ambassador to the United Nations was arrested today in connection with the Oil For Food Scandal. It's not a surprise that a high ranking Frenchman was involved, only surprising that he was busted.

Merimee, 68, was being questioned over allegations he may have benefited from oil allocations granted under the programme by former Iraqi president
Saddam Hussein between 1996 and 2003.

Merimee was France's UN ambassador from 1991 to 1995. He was then named ambassador to Italy, and from 1999 to 2002 he was a special adviser to UN secretary-general
Kofi Annan on European issues.

Five people have already been placed under judicial investigation by judge Philippe Courroye in connection with the "oil-for-food" affair.

They are Serge Boidevaix, former secretary-general at the French foreign ministry; businessman Claude Kaspereit; Bernard Guillet, an adviser to former French interior minister Charles Pasqua; Gilles Munier, head of an Iraqi-French friendship society; and Palestinian journalist Hamida Nana.

It only remains to be seen if he exhibits traditional French courage by singing like a bird.