The claims involve white slavery, sado-masochism, rapes, sex with minors, drug dealing and appalling brutality -- all in the heart of the government of one of France's most historic and most civilized cities.
The southern city of Toulouse, known as la ville rose because of its many sun-drenched Spanish-style buildings, has been scandalized by allegations that public officials protected a barbaric serial killer charged with murdering prostitutes recruited for orgies in the city's courthouse.
Though the accusations are unproved, Justice Minister Dominique Perben sacked Toulouse's prosecutor-general, Jean Volff, last week for covering up links between senior officials and the exploitation of vulnerable girls.
The allegations focus on the activities of Patrice Alegre, a convicted murderer awaiting trial for five other killings. Former prostitutes have claimed his activities were covered up.
A former mayor and three judges have come forward to give their version of events. In a TV appearance, the right-wing former mayor of Toulouse, Dominique Baudis, now head of a broadcasting watchdog, claimed he was being framed by pro-pornography lobbies who wanted to smear him for opposing the showing of X-rated material on national TV.
The three judges have also denied any involvement. They will be questioned about `acts of torture and barbaric acts, pimping and rapes of under-age girls'.
Detectives have reopened an investigation into the disappearance of 115 young women in the Toulouse area between 1986 and 1997, and are probing earlier claims that Alegre was paid to establish a prostitution network by respected local leaders.
According to various reports in the press, senior police officials covered up Alegre's role as a pimp in Toulouse.
The most startling accounts of sexual violence were given by a woman known as Patricia, 32, who went into hiding in 1992 after witnessing two murders.
She has told the examining magistrates that Alegre was in charge of recruiting prostitutes and organizing orgies. She identified men with whom she had sex at Toulouse's Palais de Justice and said sado-masochist orgies went on at a chateau owned by Toulouse council. She claimed she had witnessed the killing by Alegre of two girls he had recruited.
Another prostitute was allegedly strangled while being raped by Alegre in front of witnesses after she tried to alert police that a vice squad inspector was part of the white slave racket.
The other witness, known as Fanny, was 17 when she was forced into prostitution in 1990 after being recruited by Alegre who, for a time, worked in the police canteen.
She had also witnessed the second murder, but had kept quiet about Alegre's involvement until tracked down two years ago by a gendarmerie squad investigating the unsolved killings of prostitutes in Toulouse.
The appointment of Michel Barrau as prosecutor-general has concerned lawyers because he was credited with stopping an investigation into corruption among senior right-wing politicians in Paris before last year's general election.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including