Éric de Montgolfier (born 11 August 1946) is a French attorney and state prosecutor (''procureur de la République''). When head prosecutor in

Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a ...

, he became famous for prosecuting the businessman-cum-politician

Bernard Tapie Bernard Roger Tapie (; 26 January 1943 – 3 October 2021) was a French businessman, politician and occasional actor, singer, and TV host. He was Minister of City Affairs in the government of Pierre Bérégovoy. Life and career Tapie was bor ...

for rigging the match between his football club Olympique de Marseille and the local club

Valenciennes FC Valenciennes Football Club (; commonly known as Valenciennes or USVA) is a French association football club based in Valenciennes. The club was founded in 1913 and currently play in Ligue 2, the second tier of French football. Valenciennes pla ...

. Tapie was sentenced to prison in 1995 for complicity of corruption and subornation of

witness In law, a witness is someone who has knowledge about a matter, whether they have sensed it or are testifying on another witnesses' behalf. In law a witness is someone who, either voluntarily or under compulsion, provides testimonial evidence, e ...

es. In 2003, as head prosecutor of

Nice Nice ( , ; Niçard dialect, Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department in France. The Nice urban unit, agg ...

, he returned to public notice with allegations that the local judiciary had deliberately derailed justice by miscarrying procedures, letting prescription lapse, or losing files, in "sensitive" cases; he also indicated that some members of the judiciary had unhealthy contacts in

Masonic Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

lodges with local personalities, including those they had to prosecute. Montgolfier also opened a

criminal investigation Criminal investigation is an applied science that involves the study of facts that are then used to inform criminal trials. A complete criminal investigation can include searching, interviews, interrogations, evidence collection and preservat ...

targeting rock star

Johnny Hallyday Jean-Philippe Léo Smet (; 15 June 1943 – 5 December 2017), better known by his stage name Johnny Hallyday, was a French rock and roll and pop singer and actor, credited for having brought rock and roll to France. During a career spanning 57 ...

for allegedly raping an employee of a yacht rented by Halliday. He had also hinted at possible investigations concerning corruption in the city of Nice's administration. An official report from the inspection corps of the Justice ministry blamed him for unwarranted accusations against his colleagues, but supporters of Montgolfier argue that he is criticized merely because he has uncovered cases involving well-connected people.

References

1946 births Living people Chevaliers of the Légion d'honneur Paris 2 Panthéon-Assas University alumni Lawyers from Lyon French magistrates {{France-law-bio-stub