The President of France, Emmanuel Macron and the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs have appointed Marc Fonbaustier as the new French Ambassador to Nigeria despite being found guilty of stealing in China.
Fonbaustier, aged 60, was France’s most senior diplomat in Hong Kong and Macao for nearly two years before quitting under the investigation for stealing two bottles of wine from the exclusive Hong Kong Country Club.
According to TheGuardian, the alleged theft reportedly occurred in the club’s basement restaurant, but he explained he had mistaken it for a gift.
During the alleged theft in 2013, Bernard Valero, the then-spokesperson for the French foreign office, reportedly stated that Fonbaustier’s actions were “unlikely to meet the requirements of professional conduct for a French diplomat.”
Despite admitting the alleged theft and paid reimbursement, Fonbaustier quit his position, citing “strictly personal” reasons.
Meanwhile, West Africa Weekly gathered in 2019, Fonbaustier was the head of CFI, a French-funded organisation supposedly fighting fake news, lent itself against Ignace Sossou, a Beninese journalist to be jailed for posting three tweets quoting Public Prosecutor Mario Mètonou during the Verifox Conférence held in Cotonou.
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