Former French prime minister and potential 2027 presidential contender Dominique de Villepin has been questioned by France’s financial prosecutors as part of an investigation into two works of art he received while serving as foreign minister under then president Jacques Chirac.
Villepin was interviewed in mid-July by the Parquet national financier (PNF), France’s specialist financial crimes prosecution service, according to French prosecutors. He was heard under the audition libre procedure, a voluntary interview that does not imply formal charges.
The investigation concerns a bronze bust of Bonaparte and a statuette of Napoleon, valued at a combined €125,000 by the lobbyist who says he arranged them, that were allegedly presented to him between 2002 and 2004, when he headed the French foreign ministry.
The inquiry, formally opened on May 19, concerns suspected handling of assets allegedly derived from the misappropriation of public funds. Prosecutors confirmed on July 27 that several investigative measures, including interviews, have been carried out but declined to provide further details.
The case first emerged on April 30 following revelations by the French investigative television programme Complément d’enquête, broadcast on France 2.
According to the allegations, lobbyist Robert Bourgi arranged for Villepin to receive the two pieces. One, valued at €75,000, is said to have been a gift from former Burkinabè president Blaise Compaoré. The second, reportedly purchased for €50,000, allegedly came from Italian businessman Gian Angelo Perrucci.
Bourgi told the programme he had suggested to Compaoré that he make a gesture towards the then foreign minister. A bronze bust attributed to the sculptor Charles-Louis Corbet was subsequently delivered to the ministry, he said.
Perrucci confirmed to France 2 that he had met Villepin twice and had given him the statuette to support French oil interests in Africa.
Bourgi has also been questioned by investigators.
Villepin has denied knowingly accepting gifts linked to foreign heads of state or public funds.
He has said he believed the items had been paid for personally by Bourgi and insisted he would “never” have accepted them had he known their true origin. He has also disputed the valuations, putting the statuette at about €10,000 and rejecting any link between the €75,000 invoice and the bust.
The former prime minister returned both works to the French foreign ministry at the end of April.
Speaking after the allegations surfaced, Villepin acknowledged he had made “a mistake”. He said on May 10 that he should not have accepted the pieces, adding that no rules governed such situations at the time.
He also rejected suggestions that the gifts were connected to any political or diplomatic favour, noting that Bourgi later fell out of favour with both himself and Chirac.
Villepin’s entourage has portrayed the affair as politically motivated, accusing Bourgi of acting as an ally of former president Nicolas Sarkozy, a long-time political rival of Villepin. Bourgi received the Legion of Honour from Sarkozy in 2007.
The two men have clashed before. In September 2011 Bourgi told Le Journal du Dimanche he had delivered cash from African leaders to Chirac and Villepin over more than a decade, allegations both men denied and over which both sued for defamation.
The allegations emerged while Sarkozy was facing appeal proceedings in the long-running case concerning alleged Libyan financing of his 2007 presidential campaign. That appeal trial ran from March 16 to May 27, with a ruling due on November 30.
The investigation comes as Villepin, now 72, has intensified public appearances across France, fuelling speculation that he intends to seek the presidency in 2027, although he has yet to formally declare his candidacy. He has travelled to Strasbourg, La Rochelle, Aix-en-Provence, Avignon and Lille in recent months, and presented himself in April as a candidate of national unity.
An Elabe poll published on July 12 credited him with 2.5 to 3.5 per cent of first-round voting intentions. National Rally candidate Marine Le Pen led the same survey on 34 to 35.5 per cent.
The head of the PNF, Pascal Prache, said on July 17 that prosecutors intend to accelerate investigations involving potential presidential candidates so that voters receive an initial judicial assessment before going to the polls in 2027.
