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| Bernard Bonnet |
Bernard Bonnet (born February 11, 1948), French civil servant, is best known for being the first prefect since World War II to be convicted of an offense committed in the course of his duties, his role in the "Affair of the beach huts".
Affair Of The beach Huts
Bernard Bonnet's career came to an abrupt end in 1999 with the "affair of the beach huts" (French: affaire des paillotes). On the night of 19–20 April 1999, two illegally constructed beach restaurants were destroyed in an arson attack at Cala d'Orzo, south of Ajaccio. Bonnet initially suggested that the attack was a result of a disagreement between armed separatist groups (a common occurrence in Corsica at the time), but the police investigation quickly indicated that the fire had been started by a group of gendarmes from the elite Groupe de peloton de sécurité (GPS). A walkie-talkie, a compass, a blood-stained balaclava and several jerrycans which had contained petrol were discovered buried in the sand of the beach on 23 April, while a badly-burned patient had been anonymously admitted to the Rangueil University Hospital in Toulouse, transferred from the neighbouring military hospital.Bonnet was arrested on 3 May and flown to Paris for questioning: he was held in prison on remand (détention préventive) for two months. After a trial in Ajaccio, he was found guilty of conspiracy to arson (complicité de destruction de biens appartenant à autrui par l'effet d'un incendie) on 2002-01-10 and sentenced to three years of imprisonment, two of which were suspended, and three years deprivation of his civil rights (privation des droits civiques).
Bonnet appealed against his conviction, first to the Court of Appeal in Bastia, which rejected the appeal on 2003-01-15, and then to the Court of Cassation, France's highest court, which rejected his petition on 2004-10-13. His request for a Presidential pardon was rejected by Jacques Chirac in March 2005.[11] Nevertheless, Bonnet never returned to prison as he was granted probation (liberté conditionnelle) by a Paris judge on 2006-06-09, a decision confirmed on appeal on 2006-10-12. Neither was he ever sacked from the civil service: he was suspended after his arrest in May 1999, and retired on a normal pension in October 2006.
Sources:
- Denis Touret (2007-02-12). "France, Corse, Etat de droit (Etat soeur), nationalistes, justice, émissaire, préfet Bernard Bonnet:". Retrieved 2007-04-03.
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