Michel Demaret
Encyclopedia
Michel Demaret was a Belgian politician.
neighbourhood, his general attitude and manner of speech made him a target for jokes, but also for popularity among many electors and TV viewers, particularly after the broadcasting of two documentaries about him, at that time still a low level employee at the Retirement Office, by Fait Divers, a famous Belgian television magazine, realized in 1971 and 1972 by Jean-Jacques Péché and Pierre Manuel, Les Fonctionnaires (the Public Servants) and Week-end ou la qualité de la vie (Week end or quality of life). The magazines have been put on the air a lot of times in the next quarter of a century by the Belgian TV, always with a high success. Another documentary,Tel qu'en lui-même enfin (Finally as himself) was made in 1997 by the Strip Tease magazine, filmed at the peak of Demaret's political career.
for his Belgian Christian Social Party. He became alderman
for the Registry Offices (1976–1982), for Registry Offices, Urbanism and Personnel (1982–1988) and for Public Works and Communal Proprieties (1988–1994), he was also briefly interim burgomaster of Brussels (from 20 July 1993 till 24 March 1994) after the death of Hervé Brouhon
. He was the only Christian Social burgomaster in the city's political history, as his mentor Vanden Boeynants was under judicial enquiry each time he tried to rise to this function. He was president of the social housing society Le Foyer laekenois from 1978, a function that made it possible for him to enlarge his clientelist practices. He was also a member of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region (from 12 July 1989 till 1999).
), or Monsieur 10% (Mister 10% in French
), for his reputation of taking 10% for each contract as alderman for Public Works.
This dubious reputation, also the trading mark of his political godfather Paul Vanden Boeynants, was confirmed fourteen years after his death by a court, but the contractors, his widow Francine Vereecken, his daughter and his son-in-law benefited from the prescription for corruption and whitewashing hitherto attested facts for amounts over 2.5 million euro. At the trial, his stepson said that "In the early 1990s he entrusted me with envelopes. I had to hide them in my small supermarket. Once I counted the content, there were more than 100 million Belgian franc
s (2.5 million euro). Michel Demaret came back to fetch them.". A few hours before his sudden death, in September 2000, he was controlled in a train from Zürich
, the customs officers saw huge banknotes wads sticking out from his pockets, he was slightly drunk and an amount of more than 110,000 euro was found in his suitcase. 30,000 euro were seized and he was notified that he would have to prove that this money had a licit origin to get it back.
Popular TV hero
Originally a club bouncer of humble origin from the MarollesMarolles
Marolles is the name or part of the name of several communes in France:*Marolles, in the Calvados département*Marolles, in the Loir-et-Cher département*Marolles, in the Marne département*Marolles, in the Oise département...
neighbourhood, his general attitude and manner of speech made him a target for jokes, but also for popularity among many electors and TV viewers, particularly after the broadcasting of two documentaries about him, at that time still a low level employee at the Retirement Office, by Fait Divers, a famous Belgian television magazine, realized in 1971 and 1972 by Jean-Jacques Péché and Pierre Manuel, Les Fonctionnaires (the Public Servants) and Week-end ou la qualité de la vie (Week end or quality of life). The magazines have been put on the air a lot of times in the next quarter of a century by the Belgian TV, always with a high success. Another documentary,Tel qu'en lui-même enfin (Finally as himself) was made in 1997 by the Strip Tease magazine, filmed at the peak of Demaret's political career.
Popular politician
After the first documentaries, he was recruited by the former Prime Minister Paul Vanden BoeynantsPaul Vanden Boeynants
Paul Emile François Henri Vanden Boeynants was a Belgian politician. He served as the 41st Prime Minister of Belgium for two brief periods ....
for his Belgian Christian Social Party. He became alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
for the Registry Offices (1976–1982), for Registry Offices, Urbanism and Personnel (1982–1988) and for Public Works and Communal Proprieties (1988–1994), he was also briefly interim burgomaster of Brussels (from 20 July 1993 till 24 March 1994) after the death of Hervé Brouhon
Hervé Brouhon
Hervé Brouhon was a Belgian politician for the Belgian Socialist Party.Brouhon was born in Etterbeek. He became a teacher, he was first elected as a municipal councillor in Brussels in 1950 and became its first socialist mayor from 1983 to 1993...
. He was the only Christian Social burgomaster in the city's political history, as his mentor Vanden Boeynants was under judicial enquiry each time he tried to rise to this function. He was president of the social housing society Le Foyer laekenois from 1978, a function that made it possible for him to enlarge his clientelist practices. He was also a member of the Parliament of the Brussels-Capital Region (from 12 July 1989 till 1999).
Dubious politician
A corpulent man, Michel Demaret was popularly known as Dikke Mich (Fat Mike in DutchDutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
), or Monsieur 10% (Mister 10% in French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
), for his reputation of taking 10% for each contract as alderman for Public Works.
This dubious reputation, also the trading mark of his political godfather Paul Vanden Boeynants, was confirmed fourteen years after his death by a court, but the contractors, his widow Francine Vereecken, his daughter and his son-in-law benefited from the prescription for corruption and whitewashing hitherto attested facts for amounts over 2.5 million euro. At the trial, his stepson said that "In the early 1990s he entrusted me with envelopes. I had to hide them in my small supermarket. Once I counted the content, there were more than 100 million Belgian franc
Belgian franc
The franc was the currency of Belgium until 2002 when the euro was introduced into circulation. It was subdivided into centimes , 100 centiem or Centime .-History:...
s (2.5 million euro). Michel Demaret came back to fetch them.". A few hours before his sudden death, in September 2000, he was controlled in a train from Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, the customs officers saw huge banknotes wads sticking out from his pockets, he was slightly drunk and an amount of more than 110,000 euro was found in his suitcase. 30,000 euro were seized and he was notified that he would have to prove that this money had a licit origin to get it back.
Quotes
- The Pope, "who can't use a rubber and put it on his index" (in French, index is the index fingerIndex fingerThe index finger, , is the first finger and the second digit of a human hand. It is located between the first and third digits, between the thumb and the middle finger...
as well as the abbreviation for Index Librorum ProhibitorumIndex Librorum ProhibitorumThe Index Librorum Prohibitorum was a list of publications prohibited by the Catholic Church. A first version was promulgated by Pope Paul IV in 1559, and a revised and somewhat relaxed form was authorized at the Council of Trent...
) - (attributed to him after the demolition of the oldest house in Brussels, denounced by architects and historians) "well, now another one is the oldest"