A BOOK by the late Mr Francois Mitterrand's personal doctor claiming the former president was no longer capable of governing for his last six months in office was banned by a Paris court yesterday after legal action by the Mitterrand family.
The rare decision to ban the book, The Great Secret by Dr Claude Gubler, on grounds of invasion of privacy and breaking medical confidentiality, came after its entire print run of 40,000 copies sold out within 36 hours of publication.
The court said that any further sales of the book would be punished with a fine of 1,000 francs (£133). At the same time, the doctors professional body announced that it would be taking action against the doctor for violating it's ethical code.
Mr Mitterrand's personal doctor until 1994, Dr Gubler revealed that the former president knew he was suffering from the prostate cancer which eventually killed him as early as 1981, just after his election.
But Dr Gubler claims Mitterrand ordered that his cancer be kept a state secret for 11 years. Having promised voters he would be open about his state of health, Mr Mitterrand had his health bulletins published twice a year. But until he revealed his cancer after an operation in 1999, these bulletins lied that the president was in normal health for his age.
The cancer did not discourage Mr Mitterrand from standing for re election in 1988, although he barely made it to the end of his mandate, surviving only eight months after leaving office. He died on January 8th last.
Dr Gubler described how the fight against cancer gave Mr Mitterrand a cantankerous personality from the mid 1980s. He claimed that the former president authorised him to reveal the secret after his death.
But former aides of the president said that Dr Gubler was dropped as Mr Mitterrand's personal doctor from 1994 and they attributed his book to greed and a desire for revenge.
. After having urged his cabinet to see the film of urban des air La Haine, the Prime Minister Mr Alain Juppe, yesterday announced a package of measures to try to rehabilitate some of France's worst ghettos.
What had been described as a "Marshall Plan" for the suburbs in President Jacques Chirac's election campaign last year was watered down to a 15 billion franc (£2 billion) package which promised to create 100,000 jobs for young people in 350 trouble spots over four years.
Announcing the measures in Marseilles. Mr Juppe offered tax breaks for companies prepared to move into the ghettos. Public sector trade unions in Marseilles had called stoppages and demonstrations to throw Mr Juppe oft course.
Officials said the goal would be to create 10,000 new jobs for young people, far fewer than suburban mayors had hoped for. The government would also propose job training centres for delinquent youths.