The former president of Cote d’Ivoire, Laurent Gbagbo, has revealed that while he was still in office, former French President Jacques Chirac called and asked him for €3 million (2 billion CFA francs).
Gbagbo, who ruled from 2000 until his arrest in April 2011, revealed this during an exclusive interview with AFO Media on Thursday. Gbagbo said he gave the sum to Chirac out of shock that the French head of state asked him for money.
In his words:
It’s not a question of fear but a surprise to see the French head of state asking me for money. I was stunned. I was surprised. I was flabbergasted.
His revelation comes about 13 years after Chirac denied accusations of collecting at least $20 million from African heads of state to fund election campaigns.
It will be recalled that in 2011, Robert Bourgi, who was part of Chirac’s envoy for France-Africa, exposed that Chirac and former Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin received $20 million from African heads of state to finance their election campaigns.
Bourgi provided this information on France 24 during the presentation of his book:
They know that I know everything. My life in France-Africa.
He said Chirac got financial help from leaders like Omar Bongo of Gabon, Denis Sassou N’Guesso of Congo, Blaise Compaoré of Burkina Faso, and Mobutu of the Democratic Republic of Congo, with $10 million going toward his 1995 campaign. Bourgi also alleged that Gbagbo and Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade gave Chirac $3 million for his 2002 re-election campaign.
Bourgi claimed to have personally delivered the cash but admitted there was no proof of the payments. He also accused former far-right politician Jean-Marie Le Pen of using money from Gabon’s President Bongo for his 1988 campaign.
When asked what African leaders got in return, Bourgi said: “Lies, lies, lies, unkept promises, meaning that France would close its eyes to certain abuses of power in Africa.”
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