Éric Halphen (born 10 October 1959) is a French judge best known as the
investigating magistrate
In an inquisitorial system of law, the examining magistrate (also called investigating magistrate, inquisitorial magistrate, or investigating judge) is a judge who carries out pre-trial investigations into allegations of crime and in some cases m ...
in the
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...
). Later received his baccalaureat in literature at
Versailles
The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...
investigating magistrate
In an inquisitorial system of law, the examining magistrate (also called investigating magistrate, inquisitorial magistrate, or investigating judge) is a judge who carries out pre-trial investigations into allegations of crime and in some cases m ...
.
* 1994. Start of the .
* 2002. Retired as a judge.
The Paris HLM scandal
In January 1994 Halphen began an inquiry following the discovery of a series of forged invoices between and companies that were providing services to
, at the time run by Didier Schuller and Patrick Balkany, close associates of
Charles Pasqua
Charles Victor Pasqua (18 April 192729 June 2015) was a French businessman and Gaullist politician. He was Interior Minister from 1986 to 1988, under Jacques Chirac's '' cohabitation'' government, and also from 1993 to 1995, under the government ...
Le Monde
''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
. Halphen relaunched the HLM inquiry, and in March 2001 summoned president Chirac to give testimony in the case, although Chirac refused claiming that it would be incompatible with his duties as president.
In September 2001 the court of appeal ruled that Halphen did not have sufficient grounds to reopen the case and overturned all its findings. He was removed from the investigations and replaced with judge Armand Riberolles.
In January 2002 Halphen announced that he was quitting his position as judge and turned to writing. He was a vocal supporter of
's presidential campaign, later distancing himself after Chevènement fell in with the political right. He is a member of
Roland Castro
Roland Castro (born 16 October 1940) is a French architect and political activist.
Biography
Roland Castro was born on 16 October 1940 in Limoges.
By the end of 1966 he was a member of the editorial committee of ''Melp!'', the École Normale Su ...
's 'Mouvement de l'Utopie Concrète'.
Bibliography
* 2002 : ''Sept ans de solitude'' (''Seven Years of Solitude''),
Editions Gallimard
Edition may refer to:
* Edition (book), a bibliographical term for a substantially similar set of copies
* Edition (printmaking), a publishing term for a set print run
* Edition (textual criticism), a particular version of a text
* Edition Records ...
Corruption scandals in the Paris region
In the 1980s and 1990s there were, in the Paris region (ÃŽle-de-France), multiple instances of alleged and proved political corruption cases, as well as cases of abuse of public money and resources. Almost all involved were members of the conserva ...