French President Hollande denounces Budget Minister Cahuzac's actions

         
French President Francois Hollande arrived on Wednesday to Morocco where he was received by King Mohammed VI at Casablanca airport, noting that he tried to minimize the impacts of the scandal of the ex-budget minister Jerome Cahuzac who was charged in a tax fraud probe.           

In this context, Hollande denounced Cahuzac's actions, and added that the latter "did not benefit from any protection".         

It is worth noting that the French President, accompanied with eight ministers and 60 French leaders, will hold talks with the king and harangue the French community in Morocco, in a bid to prevent the tax scandal from spreading further, adding that he will sign over 30 contracts.          

France's former budget minister, forced to resign after revelations he held a secret Swiss bank account, has allowed Swiss authorities to pass account details to French judges investigating him for fraud, Geneva's public prosecutor said on Wednesday.        

Jerome Cahuzac quit his post in charge of French state finances two weeks ago on the orders of President Francois Hollande. On Tuesday he admitted to holding 600,000 euros in a secret foreign account and said on his blog he was "caught in a spiral of lies".         

The scandal is a grave blow to the 10-month-old Socialist government as it struggles to fulfill election promises to right France's economy and stem rising unemployment.       

French prosecutors began investigating Cahuzac for fraud after accusations by investigative news website Mediapart. If charged and found guilty in court, Cahuzac could face up to five years in prison.


LBCI/REUTERS