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Great Oil Sniffer Hoax
The Great Oil Sniffer Hoax was a 1979 scandal involving French oil company Elf Aquitaine. The company spent millions of dollars to develop a new gravity wave-based oil detection system, which was later revealed to be a scam. Elf lost over $150 million to the hoax. In France, the scandal is known as the "Avions Renifleurs" ("Sniffer Aircraft"). Prior to Elf Aldo Bonassoli, a telephone-company electrician in Ventimiglia in Italy, invented a new type of desalination system. In 1965, Belgian Count Alain de Villegas became interested in the idea and later said that "We can live without oil, but not without water."Hutchinson, p. 158 When the device proved not to work as expected, the team started work on a related concept, a "water sniffer" that would find water. De Villegas was also a member of the Pan-European Union, an anti-communist group headquartered in Brussels. Through contacts in this group, in 1969 they met Jean Violet, a lawyer who worked for the Service de Documentati ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Due to its several coastal territories, France has the largest exclusive economic zone in the world. France borders Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Andorra, and Spain in continental Europe, as well as the Netherlands, Suriname, and Brazil in the Americas via its overseas territories in French Guiana and Saint Martin. Its eighteen integral regions (five of which are overseas) span a combined area of and contain clos ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gravity Wave
In fluid dynamics, gravity waves are waves generated in a fluid medium or at the interface between two media when the force of gravity or buoyancy tries to restore equilibrium. An example of such an interface is that between the atmosphere and the ocean, which gives rise to wind waves. A gravity wave results when fluid is displaced from a position of equilibrium. The restoration of the fluid to equilibrium will produce a movement of the fluid back and forth, called a ''wave orbit''. Gravity waves on an air–sea interface of the ocean are called surface gravity waves (a type of surface wave), while gravity waves that are the body of the water (such as between parts of different densities) are called '' internal waves''. Wind-generated waves on the water surface are examples of gravity waves, as are tsunamis and ocean tides. The period of wind-generated gravity waves on the free surface of the Earth's ponds, lakes, seas and oceans are predominantly between 0.3 and 30 se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
François Mitterrand
François Marie Adrien Maurice Mitterrand (26 October 19168 January 1996) was President of France, serving under that position from 1981 to 1995, the longest time in office in the history of France. As First Secretary of the Socialist Party, he was the first left-wing politician to assume the presidency under the Fifth Republic. Reflecting family influences, Mitterrand started political life on the Catholic nationalist right. He served under the Vichy regime during its earlier years. Subsequently he joined the Resistance, moved to the left, and held ministerial office several times under the Fourth Republic. Mitterrand opposed Charles de Gaulle's establishment of the Fifth Republic. Although at times a politically isolated figure, he outmanoeuvered rivals to become the left's standard bearer in the 1965 and 1974 presidential elections, before being elected president in the 1981 presidential election. He was re-elected in 1988 and remained in office until 1995. Mitterrand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Le Canard Enchaîné
(; English: "The Chained Duck" or "The Chained Paper", as is French slang meaning "newspaper") is a satirical weekly newspaper in France. Its headquarters is in Paris. Founded in 1915 during World War I, it features investigative journalism and leaks from sources inside the French government, the French political world and the French business world, as well as many jokes and cartoons. ''Le Canard enchaîné'' does not accept any advertisements and is privately owned, mostly by its own employees. Presentation Early history The name is a reference to Radical Georges Clemenceau's newspaper ''L'homme libre'' (‘The Free Man’), which was forced to close by government censorship and reacted upon its reopening by changing its name to ''L'homme enchaîné'' ("The Chained-up Man"); ''Le Canard enchaîné'' means ‘The chained-up duck’ but ''canard'' (duck) is also French slang for ‘newspaper’; it was also a reference to French journals published by soldiers during World Wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierre Péan
Pierre Péan (5 March 1938 – 25 July 2019) was a French investigative journalist and author of many books concerned with political scandals. Books, investigations and controversies In 1983 Pierre Péan was the first to break the story of the Great Oil Sniffer Hoax in ''Le Canard enchaîné''. In his 1990 book ''L'Homme de l'ombre'' ("Man of the Shadows"), Péan went into great detail about Jacques Foccart, who was Charles de Gaulle's adviser on African matters, describing him as a man of mystery and yet the most powerful person in the Fifth Republic. As a result of Péan's revelations, Foccart unsuccessfully sued for libel. In 1994, he published ''Une jeunesse française: François Mitterrand'' (''A French Youth: François Mitterrand''). The book is a biography covering the life of François Mitterrand from 1934 to 1947. It became a best-seller, and started a controversy over the ambiguous behaviour of Mitterrand with respect to both Marshal Philippe Pétain and the French ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cour Des Comptes
The ''Cour des Comptes'' ("Court of Accounts") is France's supreme audit institution, under French law an administrative court. As such, it is independent from the legislative and executive branches of the French Government. However, the 1946 and 1958 French constitutions made it the Court's duty to assist the Cabinet and Parliament in regulating government spending. The Court thus combines functions of a court of exchequer, comptroller general's office, and auditor general's office in common-law countries. It is also a Grand Corps of the French State and mainly recruits among the best-ranked students graduating from the Ecole nationale d'administration. The Court traces its origins back to the Middle Ages and views itself as succeeding the Court of Auditors of Paris, permanently established in the early 14th century. It was re-established in 1807 by Napoleon. Its three duties are to conduct financial audits of accounts, conduct good governance audits, and provide information ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Commissariat à L'énergie Atomique
The French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission or CEA (French: Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives), is a French public government-funded research organisation in the areas of energy, defense and security, information technologies and health technologies. The CEA maintains a cross-disciplinary culture of engineers and researchers, building on the synergies between fundamental and technological research. CEA is headed by a board headed by the general administrator (currently François Jacq since 20 April 2018), advised by the high-commissioner for atomic energy (currently Patrick Landais). Its yearly budget amounts to €5.1 billion and its permanent staff is slightly over 20,500 persons. It owned Areva. CEA was created in 1945; since then, the successive high-commissioners have been Frédéric Joliot-Curie, Francis Perrin, Jacques Yvon, Jean Teillac, Raoul Dautry, René Pellat, Bernard Bigot, Daniel Verwaerde and François Jacq. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jules Horowitz
Jules Horowitz (3 October 1921 – 3 August 1995) was a French physicist. The Jules Horowitz Reactor is named after him. 1921 births 1995 deaths École Polytechnique alumni Commanders of the Legion of Honour French physicists {{France-physicist-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Albin Chalandon
Albin Chalandon (; 11 June 1920 – 29 July 2020) was a French politician and minister. Between 1968 and 1972, he was Minister of Public Works. And from 1986 until 1988, he was Minister of Justice. Between 1967 and 1968, he was a member of the Union for the New Republic, then between 1968 and 1976 he was a member of the Union of Democrats for the Republic The Union for the Defence of the Republic (french: Union pour la défense de la République), after 1968 renamed Union of Democrats for the Republic (french: Union des Démocrates pour la République), commonly abbreviated UDR, was a Gaullist p ... and finally from 1986 until 1988 he was a member of the Rally for the Republic. References , - , - 1920 births 2020 deaths French centenarians Men centenarians People from Ain Politicians from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Union for the New Republic politicians Union of Democrats for the Republic politicians Rally for the Republic politicians French Ministe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Raymond Barre
Raymond Octave Joseph Barre (; 12 April 192425 August 2007) was a French centre-right politician and economist. He was a Vice President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs under three presidents (Rey, Malfatti and Mansholt) and later served as Prime Minister under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing from 1976 until 1981. As a candidate for the presidency in 1988, he came in third and was eliminated in the first round. He was born in Saint-Denis, in the French island of Réunion, then still a colony (it became an overseas department in 1946). Career Professional life After his education, Raymond Barre was professor of economics at the '' Institut d'Etudes Politiques de Paris (Sciences Po)'' as well as '' École Centrale Paris''. From 1959 to 1962, he was director of Jean-Marcel Jeanneney's staff, in the ministry of Industry and Trade. Then, in 1967, President Charles de Gaulle chose him as Vice-President of the European Commission for Econ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Valéry Giscard D'Estaing
Valéry René Marie Georges Giscard d'Estaing (, , ; 2 February 19262 December 2020), also known as Giscard or VGE, was a French politician who served as President of France from 1974 to 1981. After serving as Minister of Finance under prime ministers Jacques Chaban-Delmas and Pierre Messmer, Giscard d'Estaing won the presidential election of 1974 with 50.8% of the vote against François Mitterrand of the Socialist Party. His tenure was marked by a more liberal attitude on social issues—such as divorce, contraception and abortion—and attempts to modernise the country and the office of the presidency, notably overseeing such far-reaching infrastructure projects as the TGV and the turn towards reliance on nuclear power as France's main energy source. Giscard d'Estaing launched the Grande Arche, Musée d'Orsay, Arab World Institute and Cité des Sciences et de l'Industrie projects in the Paris region, later included in the Grands Projets of François Mitterrand. He promot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pierre Guillaumat
Pierre Guillaumat (5 August 1909 – 28 August 1991) was a Minister of National Education and Minister of the Armies under French President Charles de Gaulle and founder of the Elf Aquitaine oil company in 1967. He was born in La Flèche La Flèche () is a town and commune in the French department of Sarthe, in the Pays de la Loire region in the Loire Valley. It is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton, and the second most po ..., Sarthe, the son of French general Adolphe Guillaumat. 1909 births 1991 deaths People from La Flèche Politicians from Pays de la Loire French Ministers of Defence French Ministers of National Education Politicians of the French Fifth Republic French Resistance members French people of the Algerian War French chief executives École Polytechnique alumni Mines ParisTech alumni Corps des mines TotalEnergies people Grand Croix of the Légion d'honneur {{France-po ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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