This is a list of major political scandals in France.
Until 1958 1789: Réveillon riots - popular revolt from April 26- 28, in the Faubourg Saint-Antoine, Paris. Considered a precursor to the Storming of the Bastille and the French Revolution. 1797: XYZ Affair - a political and diplomatic episode involving confrontation with the United States that led to the Quasi-War. 1816: shipwreck of and search for the off the west coast of Africa 1847: Teste-Cubières corruption scandal, revealed in May 1847 1847: Charles de Choiseul-Praslin's suicide after having murdered his wife, daughter of Horace Sébastiani, minister of the July Monarchy 1880s: Georges Ernest Boulanger affair 1887: Schnaebele incident 1887: Wilson scandal, which led to the resignation of President Jules Grévy 1890s: Panama scandals 1894: Dreyfus affair, treason conviction of Alfred Dreyfus, exposed by writer Émile Zola on 13 January 1898 1904: the Affair of the Cards, sometimes called the Affair of the Casseroles. 1928: Marthe Hanau affair 1930: Albert Oustric affair 1934: Stavisky Affair, embezzlement and political corruption 1949: the Generals Affair, a political-military scandal during the First Indochina War 1950: the Henri Martin Affair, a political-military scandal during the First Indochina War 1958: the ballets roses, a scandal most notably involving then President of the Senate, André Le Troquer, in which a group of girls aged 15 to 17 performed "ballets" that ended in orgies
Under the Fifth Republic
1965: the Ben Barka affair, disappearance of the Moroccan opposition leader Mehdi Ben Barka. 1968: The Markovic affair 1974: Eurodif affair Cardinal Jean Daniélou's death in the house of a prostitute Le Monde reveals the existence of the SAFARI government database, prompting the creation of the CNIL agency in charge of respect of civil rights and data privacy. 1979: Robert Boulin affair; a minister of the third Raymond Barre government, Boulin was found dead in mysterious circumstances on 30 October 1979 Diamonds Affair involving Bokassa 1981: the Canard enchaîné uncovered the collaborationist role of former official Maurice Papon under Vichy France; the latter would eventually be convicted of crimes against humanity 1985: sinking of the Rainbow Warrior by the French DGSE intelligence agency 1986: Chernobyl disaster, Jacques Chirac's government wrongly alleged that the "radioactive cloud" had stopped at the French borders 1987–1988: Iskandar Safa and the Hostage Scandal involving Prime Minister Jacques Chirac and Interior Minister Charles Pasqua 1980s: contaminated blood scandal The Canard enchaîné satirical newspaper fought to bring to light evidence of alleged corruption during President Jacques Chirac's tenure as Mayor of Paris.See: Chirac's role in Parisian corruption scandals. 1990s: Angolagate (arms-for-oil scandal) La Fayette scandal 1994: Yann Piat affair; a former National Front MP, assassinated on 25 February 1994) 1994: Dauphiné News affair; Minister Alain Carignon indicted, later sentenced to 29 months in prison 1998: affair Elf-Dumas 1999: "Affair of the beach huts", leading to the arrest of prefect Bernard Bonnet 2005: the revelations of the Canard enchaîné on Finance Minister Hervé Gaymard's (UMP) lavish state-funded apartment led to his resignation in 2005 2006: Clearstream affair allegedly involving Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin (UMP) accused of attempting to discredit his political rivals, including UMP Leader Nicolas Sarkozy, by spreading false allegations concerning the Taiwan frigates scandal. Since 2010 Bettencourt affair Karachi affair Sylvie Andrieux affair Alleged Libyan financing in the 2007 French presidential election Cahuzac affair 2012 UMP leadership election fraud accusations Thomas Thevenoud affair Kader Arif affair Bruno Le Roux affair Fillon affair Benalla affair Richard Ferrand affair
See also Balladur jurisprudence, concerning ministers indicted by the justice Le Canard Enchaîné, an investigative satirical newspaper which uncovered many scandals Outreau affair, a judicial scandal Corruption in France
References
External links The Bettencourt/L'Oréal scandal Radio France Internationale in English French politics no stranger to scandals Radio France Internationale in English L'Oréal, scandals and the far right Radio France Internationale in English Liste d'affaires politico-financières françaises List Of French Financial Political Scandals in French