PARIS - The French Prime Minister, Mr Alain Juppe, pledged yesterday to stamp out illegal phone-tapping, a practice at the heart of a scandal darkening the late President Francois Mitterrand's legacy. "I intend to put an end to totally deplorable practices which jeopardise individual freedoms," he said.
Files of Mitterrand's former anti-terrorist cell, extracts of which were published by the media, show he personally oversaw widespread illegal taps of journalists, lawyers and politicians.