Police question ex-French PM in alleged hotel scam
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Former French Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has been questioned by police investigating a suspected financial scam involving a network of luxury hotels.
BFM-TV said Villepin was questioned for seven hours Tuesday about the affair, which centers on a suspected embezzlement scheme by Regis Bulot — the former head of the Relais & Chateaux chain and a friend of the politician.
Villepin said in a statement that he is "in no way implicated ... in this sad affair."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Bulot, who ran the chain until Dec. 2005, has been charged with fraud for allegedly embezzling some €1.5 million ($1.92 million).
French daily Le Monde has reported that police suspect Villepin tried to influence judicial inquiries into Bulot.