PARIS—Paris General Prosecutor François Falletti refused to reopen investigations, on June 8, to determine the long-debated cause of the 1979 death of Robert Boulin, a minister of then French President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing.
According to the prosecutor, the new elements brought to justice by the daughter of Robert Boulin did not bring any new information on the circumstances of a death officially considered to be a suicide. “The testimonies said to be new, either aren’t, or are very vague statements by individuals deceased long ago,” explained Falletti in a press release.
But for Fabienne Boulin-Burgeat, her father was the victim of a political murder. Murder or suicide, Boulin’s case remains one of the most controversial judicial cases of the last 30 years, in France.
No one anticipates the controversy to calm down, since French justice announced that several classified seals that could have, by means of genetic analyses, brought some light on the events of April 24, 1979, had strangely “been lost.”
In response to the missing documents, Oliver Morice, lawyer for Mrs. Boulin-Burgeat, immediately announced he would sue the French state for “defect of justice.”
“Not only is this scandalous,“ claimed Morice in Le Figaro newspaper, ”but it really adds fuel to accusations that there is a true plot to prevent the truth to be known on the circumstances of Robert Boulin’s death.” No more doubt, believes Morice, as the letters “disappeared because we asked for explanations.”
The French Le Point newspaper revealed that French Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie ordered an internal investigation on the issue. Le Point explained that such disappearances are no exception in a relatively archaic French justice system, where no long-term storage is organize for files of closed cases.
Yet Le Figaro was much more critical and accusative: “The disappearance of these elements is unexplainable” said Le Figaro. “And it is suspicious. The eight letters had been kept with their envelopes in the judiciary file of the investigation. Even better, according to judiciary sources they had been secured in a strongbox, as usually done for sensitive files.”
In letters sent to the French police and media before his death, Boulin announced he would put an end to his life. But Fabienne Boulin is convinced the letters are fake. She intended to prove her father neither wrote nor sent them, by asking for a DNA analysis of the saliva left on stamps.
Prosecutor Falletti declined genetic testing on the letters attributed to Minister Boulin. “DNA analyses would not allow any useful comparison since no one has ever been suspected in this case,” explained Falletti in a press release.
Boulin’s body was found drowned in 20 inches of water in the forest of Rambouillet, south of Paris, in October, 1979. An autopsy found a large amount of barbiturates in the minister, and the initial investigation concluded it was a suicide, corroborated by the fact that Boulin was at that time linked to a corruption affair that could have driven him to such an act.
Fabienne Boulin-Burgeat has long claimed that her father was killed after a political conspiracy started in the right-wing RPR political party (the party created by former French president Jacques Chirac), or more specifically, its security department. Robert Boulin was at that time on track to become prime minister.
Things are not over with the court decision, since the Paris general prosecutor indicated that it was still possible to file a new complaint for murder.
According to the prosecutor, the new elements brought to justice by the daughter of Robert Boulin did not bring any new information on the circumstances of a death officially considered to be a suicide. “The testimonies said to be new, either aren’t, or are very vague statements by individuals deceased long ago,” explained Falletti in a press release.
But for Fabienne Boulin-Burgeat, her father was the victim of a political murder. Murder or suicide, Boulin’s case remains one of the most controversial judicial cases of the last 30 years, in France.
No one anticipates the controversy to calm down, since French justice announced that several classified seals that could have, by means of genetic analyses, brought some light on the events of April 24, 1979, had strangely “been lost.”
More Shadows, Less Light
In response to the missing documents, Oliver Morice, lawyer for Mrs. Boulin-Burgeat, immediately announced he would sue the French state for “defect of justice.”
“Not only is this scandalous,“ claimed Morice in Le Figaro newspaper, ”but it really adds fuel to accusations that there is a true plot to prevent the truth to be known on the circumstances of Robert Boulin’s death.” No more doubt, believes Morice, as the letters “disappeared because we asked for explanations.”
The French Le Point newspaper revealed that French Justice Minister Michele Alliot-Marie ordered an internal investigation on the issue. Le Point explained that such disappearances are no exception in a relatively archaic French justice system, where no long-term storage is organize for files of closed cases.
Yet Le Figaro was much more critical and accusative: “The disappearance of these elements is unexplainable” said Le Figaro. “And it is suspicious. The eight letters had been kept with their envelopes in the judiciary file of the investigation. Even better, according to judiciary sources they had been secured in a strongbox, as usually done for sensitive files.”
In letters sent to the French police and media before his death, Boulin announced he would put an end to his life. But Fabienne Boulin is convinced the letters are fake. She intended to prove her father neither wrote nor sent them, by asking for a DNA analysis of the saliva left on stamps.
Prosecutor Falletti declined genetic testing on the letters attributed to Minister Boulin. “DNA analyses would not allow any useful comparison since no one has ever been suspected in this case,” explained Falletti in a press release.
Boulin’s body was found drowned in 20 inches of water in the forest of Rambouillet, south of Paris, in October, 1979. An autopsy found a large amount of barbiturates in the minister, and the initial investigation concluded it was a suicide, corroborated by the fact that Boulin was at that time linked to a corruption affair that could have driven him to such an act.
Fabienne Boulin-Burgeat has long claimed that her father was killed after a political conspiracy started in the right-wing RPR political party (the party created by former French president Jacques Chirac), or more specifically, its security department. Robert Boulin was at that time on track to become prime minister.
Things are not over with the court decision, since the Paris general prosecutor indicated that it was still possible to file a new complaint for murder.
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