Pierre Péan
Encyclopedia
Pierre Péan is a renowned French investigative journalist and author of many books concerned with political scandals.
.
In his 1990 book L'Homme de l'ombre ("Man of the Shadows"), Péan went into great detail about Jacques Foccart
, who was Charles de Gaulle
's adviser on African matters, describing him as a man of mystery and yet the most powerful person in the Fifth Republic. As a result of Péan's revelations, Foccart unsuccessfully sued for libel.
In 1994, he published Une jeunesse française: François Mitterrand (A French Youth: François Mitterrand). The book is a biography covering the life of François Mitterrand
from 1934 to 1947. It became a best-seller, and started a controversy over the ambiguous behaviour of Mitterrand with respect to both Marshal Philippe Pétain
and the French Resistance
during the occupation of France by Germany. Péan himself was unhappy about the press coverage of certain aspects of the book and considered the interpretations of some commentators to be unfair to Mitterrand.
In Manipulations Africaines (African Manipulations), published in February 2001, Péan investigated the sabotage of UTA Flight 772
. He alleged that evidence pointed to Iran
and Syria
(acting through the Hezbollah movement), but that due to political context (notably the Gulf War
), France and the United States tried to put the blame on Libya
. He accuses judge Jean-Louis Bruguière
of deliberately neglecting proof of Lebanon, Syria and Iran being involved to pursue only the Libyan trail. He also accused Thomas Thurman
, a Federal Bureau of Investigation
political operative, of fabricating false evidence against Libya in both the Pan Am Flight 103
and UTA Flight 772 sabotages.
In 2003, Péan published La Face cachée du Monde (The Hidden Face of Le Monde
) with Philippe Cohen. The book criticised the French newspaper's editors, claiming that they had purposefully turned their backs on Le Monde's past ethics. In particular, they alleged that Jean-Marie Colombani
and Edwy Plenel had, amongst other things, shown partisan bias (concerning Corsica, for example) and engaged in financial dealings that compromised the paper's independence. These findings remain controversial, but attracted much attention in France and around the world at the time of their publication, not least because they impugned the analytical reliability of a paper whose emphasis is precisely on analysis and not simply straight reporting. Le Monde's subsequent difficulties have been attributed in part to this book.
In 2005, he published Noires fureurs, blancs menteurs. Rwanda, 1990-1994 (Black Furies, White Liars. Rwanda, 1990-1994) about the Rwandan genocide
. This controversial book was an explicit attack on François-Xavier Verschave
's work concerning "Françafrique
", a term connoting the specific kind of neocolonialism
imposed by Charles de Gaulle
and successive presidents of the Fifth Republic
on the former African colonies of the French colonial empire
. In his book, Péan defends the attitude of the French government during the Rwanda crisis. He also accuses the FPR
and Paul Kagame
of being responsible for the assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana
. The fact that he alleged the existence of a "counter-genocide" immediately sparked critics of his book as a revisionist attempt to alter the accepted history of the Rwanda genocide with a false comparison.
In 2008, Pierre Péan wrote The World According to K, another controversial book, on the supposed ties between Bernard Kouchner
- currently French foreign minister - and African dictators. Péan claimed two consultancies run by associates of Kouchner were paid nearly $6m (£4.1m; €4.7m) by the governments of Gabon
and Congo
for reports that were written by him. According to Péan, some of this money was paid by the two African governments after Kouchner became foreign minister in May 2007. Kouchner denied the accusations of conflict of interest, blaming the allegations on "circles" who hated him and pointing to differences with Péan over who should be blamed for the Rwandan genocide
.
Bernard Kouchner countered by accusing Pierre Péan of antisemitism, provoking a scandal in French press.
This book is not only about Africa, but also about Kosovo
, and how Kouchner used to behave there when he was ONU
delegate. Kouchner never answered about the facts Péan revealed in his book, and preferred to keep silent.
accused of inciting racial hatred in a book on the Rwanda
n genocide
. Péan wrote that the Tutsis had a culture of lies and deceit, and this had somehow spread to the Hutus. He said it made investigating Rwanda "an almost impossible task". Some 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered in 1994. A French rights group, SOS Racisme
, filed the lawsuit against Péan in October 2006 and was backed by the public prosecutor. The case related to four pages in Péan's book "Noires Fureurs, Blancs Menteurs" ("Black Furies, White Liars"), published in 2005.
The trial took place from 23 to 25 September 2008. Among the witnesses testifying on Péan's behalf were two former French government ministers: the socialist Hubert Védrine
and the rightist Bernard Debré
. Giving evidence, Pierre Péan complained that for three years he had been under a cloud: "At best, I was treated as a racist; at worst, a genocide denier." On the second day of the trial, Péan burst into tears when a former leader of the French Union of Jewish Students compared his book to Adolf Hitler
's Mein Kampf
. A survivor of the Rwandan genocide - psychotherapist Esther Mujawo-Keiner - accused him of "playing with words that can kill", to which Péan, without apologising for the words he used, replied: "I bow down in front of the suffering of the victims."
In November 2008, when the case against Péan was dismissed, his lawyer said the verdict was "a victory for freedom of expression, and for a real exchange of ideas on what is a very difficult subject." SOS Racisme said they would appeal against the court's decision.
Books, investigations and controversies
In 1983 Pierre Péan was the first to break the story of the Great Oil Sniffer Hoax in Le Canard enchaînéLe Canard enchaîné
Le Canard enchaîné is a satirical newspaper published weekly in France. Founded in 1915, it features investigative journalism and leaks from sources inside the French government, the French political world and the French business world, as well as many jokes and humorous cartoons.-Early...
.
In his 1990 book L'Homme de l'ombre ("Man of the Shadows"), Péan went into great detail about Jacques Foccart
Jacques Foccart
Jacques Foccart was a chief adviser for the government of France on African policy as well as the co-founder of the Gaullist Service d'Action Civique in 1959 with Charles Pasqua, which specialized in covert operations in Africa.From 1960 to 1974, he was the President of France's chief of staff...
, who was Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
's adviser on African matters, describing him as a man of mystery and yet the most powerful person in the Fifth Republic. As a result of Péan's revelations, Foccart unsuccessfully sued for libel.
In 1994, he published Une jeunesse française: François Mitterrand (A French Youth: François Mitterrand). The book is a biography covering the life of François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
from 1934 to 1947. It became a best-seller, and started a controversy over the ambiguous behaviour of Mitterrand with respect to both Marshal Philippe Pétain
Philippe Pétain
Henri Philippe Benoni Omer Joseph Pétain , generally known as Philippe Pétain or Marshal Pétain , was a French general who reached the distinction of Marshal of France, and was later Chief of State of Vichy France , from 1940 to 1944...
and the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
during the occupation of France by Germany. Péan himself was unhappy about the press coverage of certain aspects of the book and considered the interpretations of some commentators to be unfair to Mitterrand.
In Manipulations Africaines (African Manipulations), published in February 2001, Péan investigated the sabotage of UTA Flight 772
UTA Flight 772
UTA Flight 772 of the French airline Union des Transports Aériens was a scheduled flight operating from Brazzaville in the Republic of Congo, via N'Djamena in Chad, to Paris CDG airport in France....
. He alleged that evidence pointed to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
(acting through the Hezbollah movement), but that due to political context (notably the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
), France and the United States tried to put the blame on Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
. He accuses judge Jean-Louis Bruguière
Jean-Louis Bruguière
Jean-Louis Bruguière was the leading French investigating magistrate in charge of counter-terrorism affairs. He was appointed in 2004 vice-president of the Paris Court of Serious Claims . He has garnered controversy for various acts, including the indictment of Rwandan president Paul Kagame for the...
of deliberately neglecting proof of Lebanon, Syria and Iran being involved to pursue only the Libyan trail. He also accused Thomas Thurman
Thomas Thurman
In the late 1980s and for most of the 1990s, James Thomas Thurman was employed at the FBI forensics laboratory, which investigated explosives-related crimes...
, a Federal Bureau of Investigation
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
political operative, of fabricating false evidence against Libya in both the Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103
Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan American World Airways' third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from London Heathrow Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport...
and UTA Flight 772 sabotages.
In 2003, Péan published La Face cachée du Monde (The Hidden Face of Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...
) with Philippe Cohen. The book criticised the French newspaper's editors, claiming that they had purposefully turned their backs on Le Monde's past ethics. In particular, they alleged that Jean-Marie Colombani
Jean-Marie Colombani
Jean-Marie Colombani is a French journalist, and was the editor of the daily newspaper Le Monde from 1994 until 2007.-Biography:...
and Edwy Plenel had, amongst other things, shown partisan bias (concerning Corsica, for example) and engaged in financial dealings that compromised the paper's independence. These findings remain controversial, but attracted much attention in France and around the world at the time of their publication, not least because they impugned the analytical reliability of a paper whose emphasis is precisely on analysis and not simply straight reporting. Le Monde's subsequent difficulties have been attributed in part to this book.
In 2005, he published Noires fureurs, blancs menteurs. Rwanda, 1990-1994 (Black Furies, White Liars. Rwanda, 1990-1994) about the Rwandan genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
. This controversial book was an explicit attack on François-Xavier Verschave
François-Xavier Verschave
François-Xavier Verschave was primarily known as one of the founders of the French NGO Survie , over which he presided since 1995, and as coiner of the term Françafrique, an expression designating the specific form of neocolonialism which has been endured by the former French Colonies.Verschave...
's work concerning "Françafrique
Françafrique
Françafrique is a term that refers to France's relationship with Africa. The term was first used in a positive sense by President Félix Houphouët-Boigny of Côte d'Ivoire, but it is now generally understood to denounce the neocolonial relationship France has with its African backyard...
", a term connoting the specific kind of neocolonialism
Neocolonialism
Neocolonialism is the practice of using capitalism, globalization, and cultural forces to control a country in lieu of direct military or political control...
imposed by Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
and successive presidents of the Fifth Republic
French Fifth Republic
The Fifth Republic is the fifth and current republican constitution of France, introduced on 4 October 1958. The Fifth Republic emerged from the collapse of the French Fourth Republic, replacing the prior parliamentary government with a semi-presidential system...
on the former African colonies of the French colonial empire
French colonial empire
The French colonial empire was the set of territories outside Europe that were under French rule primarily from the 17th century to the late 1960s. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the colonial empire of France was the second-largest in the world behind the British Empire. The French colonial empire...
. In his book, Péan defends the attitude of the French government during the Rwanda crisis. He also accuses the FPR
FPR
FPR may refer to: Focal Point Review*False Positive Rate , measure of the specificity of a classifier.*Family Procedure Rules, a set of rules in English and Welsh family courts*Fatal Prodigy Resurrected, a Call of Duty 4 team...
and Paul Kagame
Paul Kagame
Paul Kagame is the sixth and current President of the Republic of Rwanda. He rose to prominence as the leader of the Rwandan Patriotic Front , whose victory over the incumbent government in July 1994 effectively ended the Rwandan genocide...
of being responsible for the assassination of Juvénal Habyarimana
Juvénal Habyarimana
Juvénal Habyarimana was the third President of the Republic of Rwanda, the post he held longer than any other president to date, from 1973 until 1994. During his 20-year rule he favored his own ethnic group, the Hutus, and supported the Hutu majority in neighboring Burundi against the Tutsi...
. The fact that he alleged the existence of a "counter-genocide" immediately sparked critics of his book as a revisionist attempt to alter the accepted history of the Rwanda genocide with a false comparison.
In 2008, Pierre Péan wrote The World According to K, another controversial book, on the supposed ties between Bernard Kouchner
Bernard Kouchner
Bernard Kouchner is a French politician, diplomat, and doctor. He is co-founder of Médecins Sans Frontières and Médecins du Monde...
- currently French foreign minister - and African dictators. Péan claimed two consultancies run by associates of Kouchner were paid nearly $6m (£4.1m; €4.7m) by the governments of Gabon
Gabon
Gabon , officially the Gabonese Republic is a state in west central Africa sharing borders with Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, and with the Republic of the Congo curving around the east and south. The Gulf of Guinea, an arm of the Atlantic Ocean is to the west...
and Congo
Republic of the Congo
The Republic of the Congo , sometimes known locally as Congo-Brazzaville, is a state in Central Africa. It is bordered by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , the Angolan exclave province of Cabinda, and the Gulf of Guinea.The region was dominated by...
for reports that were written by him. According to Péan, some of this money was paid by the two African governments after Kouchner became foreign minister in May 2007. Kouchner denied the accusations of conflict of interest, blaming the allegations on "circles" who hated him and pointing to differences with Péan over who should be blamed for the Rwandan genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
.
Bernard Kouchner countered by accusing Pierre Péan of antisemitism, provoking a scandal in French press.
This book is not only about Africa, but also about Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, and how Kouchner used to behave there when he was ONU
ONU
ONU may refer to:* United Nations in the Romance languages and Arabic: منظمة الأمم المتحدة* Olivet Nazarene University* Ohio Northern University, a selective private university in Ada, Ohio....
delegate. Kouchner never answered about the facts Péan revealed in his book, and preferred to keep silent.
Case dismissed
In September 2008, Pierre Péan was put on trial in ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
accused of inciting racial hatred in a book on the Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
n genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
. Péan wrote that the Tutsis had a culture of lies and deceit, and this had somehow spread to the Hutus. He said it made investigating Rwanda "an almost impossible task". Some 800,000 Rwandan Tutsis and moderate Hutus were slaughtered in 1994. A French rights group, SOS Racisme
SOS Racisme
SOS Racisme is a French anti-racist NGO, founded in 1984. Its Spanish counterpart, SOS Racismo, is based in Barcelona.-Activities:SOS Racisme's main goal is to fight racial discrimination. Often the plaintiff in discrimination trials, the organization also offers support to immigrants and racial...
, filed the lawsuit against Péan in October 2006 and was backed by the public prosecutor. The case related to four pages in Péan's book "Noires Fureurs, Blancs Menteurs" ("Black Furies, White Liars"), published in 2005.
The trial took place from 23 to 25 September 2008. Among the witnesses testifying on Péan's behalf were two former French government ministers: the socialist Hubert Védrine
Hubert Védrine
Hubert Védrine is a French Socialist politician.Diplomatic adviser of President Mitterrand, he served as secretary-general of the presidency from 1991 to 1995, then as Foreign Minister in the government of Lionel Jospin from 1997 to 2002.After the reelection of Jacques Chirac in May 2002, Védrine...
and the rightist Bernard Debré
Bernard Debré
Bernard Debré is French urologist at Hôpital Cochin in Paris and a member of the National Assembly of France. He's one of the representants of the city of Paris, and is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement. He is a son of Michel Debré and twin-brother of Jean-Louis Debré.-References:...
. Giving evidence, Pierre Péan complained that for three years he had been under a cloud: "At best, I was treated as a racist; at worst, a genocide denier." On the second day of the trial, Péan burst into tears when a former leader of the French Union of Jewish Students compared his book to Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
's Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf
Mein Kampf is a book written by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler. It combines elements of autobiography with an exposition of Hitler's political ideology. Volume 1 of Mein Kampf was published in 1925 and Volume 2 in 1926...
. A survivor of the Rwandan genocide - psychotherapist Esther Mujawo-Keiner - accused him of "playing with words that can kill", to which Péan, without apologising for the words he used, replied: "I bow down in front of the suffering of the victims."
In November 2008, when the case against Péan was dismissed, his lawyer said the verdict was "a victory for freedom of expression, and for a real exchange of ideas on what is a very difficult subject." SOS Racisme said they would appeal against the court's decision.
See also
- Pan Am Flight 103 conspiracy theories
- Hans Köchler's Lockerbie trial observer missionHans Köchler's Lockerbie trial observer missionHans Köchler's Lockerbie trial observer mission stemmed from the dispute between the United Kingdom, the United States, and Libya concerning arrangements for the trial of two Libyans accused of causing the explosion of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie on 21 December 1988.The dispute was resolved on...
- Ulrich Lumpert Complaint against Péan on charges of "revisionism" following his publication of Noires fureurs, blancs menteurs