The diamonds affair, known in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

as "l'affaire des diamants", was a major political scandal in the 5th French Republic. In 1973, the

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

, future president

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 ...

, was offered two diamonds from the President of the

Central African Republic The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...

, the notorious dictator

Jean-Bédel Bokassa Jean-Bédel Bokassa (; 22 February 1921 – 3 November 1996), also known as Bokassa I, was a Central African political and military leader who served as the second president of the Central African Republic (CAR) and as the emperor of its s ...

. The affair was unveiled by the satiric newspaper ''

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 a ...

'' on October 10, 1979, towards the end of Giscard's presidency. In order to defend himself, Giscard d'Estaing claimed to have sold the diamonds and donated the proceeds to the Central African Red Cross. He expected CAR authorities to confirm the story. However, the head of the local Red Cross society,

Jeanne-Marie Ruth-Rolland Jeanne-Marie Ruth-Rolland (née Rolland) (17 June 1937 – 4 June 1995) was a Central African politician, social worker and teacher. She is regarded as the first female African presidential candidate. Political career Ruth-Rolland began her caree ...

, publicly denied the French claims. Ruth-Rolland was quickly dismissed from her post in what she described as a ''"coup de force"'' by Dacko. The saga contributed to Giscard losing his 1981 reelection bid.

References

* * * * * * Political scandals in France Politics of France Diplomatic gifts Valéry Giscard d'Estaing {{France-poli-stub