A DAY after Le Monderevealed that a computer belonging to one of its investigative journalists had been stolen, two more French publications have said their staff have been the victims of similar thefts. All those targeted have been covering the long-running Bettencourt scandal.
Le Mondesaid this week that a laptop and a GPS device had been stolen from the Paris home of one of its reporters, Gérard Davet, last Thursday. The paper last month initiated legal action after claiming the Élysée Palace ordered the intelligence services to trace the source of a story by Mr Davet on the Bettencourt affair – an inheritance dispute involving L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt which has led to damaging allegations of illegal party financing.
The intrigue thickened yesterday when news magazine Le Pointrevealed that a computer belonging to Hervé Gattegno, its specialist on the Bettencourt story, had been stolen from the magazine's offices either on Thursday night or early on Friday morning. A security cable protecting the machine had been cut.
Minister for justice Michèle Alliot-Marie warned against drawing conclusions on the burglaries but confirmed a police investigation into the incidents was under way following complaints by both titles. “There is an inquiry, since they have lodged complaints. When we know things for certain, I’ll be in a position to comment,” she said on French radio.
Within hours of Le Point's revelation, investigative website Médiapart, which has aggressively pursued the Bettencourt story, reported that its offices had also been burgled. The site, which was co-founded by the former Le Mondeeditor Edwy Plenel, said two computers were stolen from its Paris offices between October 7th and 8th by at least one intruder. The computers had been lying on a desk adjacent to the workstations of two journalists assigned to the Bettencourt story, although both men brought their machines home that evening.
When news of the Le Mondeand Le Pointburglaries circulated, Médiapart said it made an inventory of its equipment and found a CD containing information related to the Bettencourt story was missing, as well as a recording made secretly by Ms Bettencourt's ex-butler. Médiapart's posting of this recording on its site last June set off the saga which has hounded the government for four months and is still the subject of a number of investigations.
There appears to have been no sign of forced entry at any of the burglary scenes. Mr Davet said an intruder must have entered his apartment through a locked window. Although his laptop and a GPS device containing details of his recent movements were stolen, an external hard drive holding sensitive information was not taken.
Asked if he believed the robbery was connected to his work on the Bettencourt scandal, Mr Davet said he was “not excluding anything” but added that it could also be the work of a “petty thief”.