The scions of political figures often make the headlines and mostly for bad reasons. The offsprings of these new aristocrats seldom measure up to their parents; they do nothing out of their life but feel protected and above the law.
They often muddle through; sometimes it all goes wrong…
When an aristocrat mixes with the riffraff…
Where does the investigationof Laurent Fabius’ son stand today? Complete mystery. A wall of silence has descended upon it.In July 2013 the daily Le Monde disclosed that a fraud and money laundering case had been filed against Thomas Fabius, but nothing was said of what he was charged with. The son of the French Foreign Secretary, who officially has no declared income whatsoever, made the headlines of the French press with hisacquisition of a 7 million Euros plus apartment. However to this day, Thomas Fabius, an addictive gambler, is free as a bird, flying worldwide from casino to casino, from Macao to Monaco…
Gabriel Reveyrand de Menton, son of French Secretary of Health Marisol Touraine and of Michel Reveyrand de Menton, EU special representative to Sahel, did not have as much luck; he is in jail. This upper class lad was sentenced to 3 years in prison for extorting 980 Euros from a sixty-year-old woman living in his parents’ grand apartment building. To spice up the case, the young man and his accomplice, then in their early twenties, operated masked not to be recognized by their neighbour and used a fake weapon to threaten the older lady. Behind bars since September 2013, the prodigal son could be free in a few months; no doubt he will be paroled…
African nobility…
While the case of Marisol Touraine’s songot little noticed in France, the scions of African political leaders’ tomfooleries make the headlines in the French press. To the point that some French NGO, not so vocal when it comes to French politicians’ affairs, consider themselves entitled to sue African Presidents. This is the case of Teodoro Obiang Junior, son of the President of Equatorial Guinea. Indeed his unbridled passion for cars, pricey watches and luxury houses do not plead for him. If Teodoro Obiang Junior is protected by his immunity status as Guinea Vice-President granted by his father, Karim Wade, son of former Senegal President Aboulaye Wade,did no manage to shun prison. He is behind bars on charges of fraudulent personal enrichment. Ali Bongo got luckier. Even though he does not play in the same league as his father, he still managed to get himself President of Gabon. LoïcFollerouxwasalso born with a silver spoon in his mouth.
He is the son of Ivory Coast First Lady Dominique Ouattara and had already become a cacao magnate when his classmates were going to their high school prom. Ivory Coast can boast many sons of… Charles Thiémélé for instance; he is the son of Amoakon Thiémélé who had an outstanding career as an ambassador, minister, Member of Parliament. Close to former President Houphouet Boigny, he is respected as a brilliant academic, an intellectual and a decent man… His son Charles would need at least three lives to live up to his father’s achievements. Short of showcasing his talents as a businessman, he boasts on Internet about the prestigious schools he attended thanks to daddy’s money.
Charles Thiémélé is no exception among the scions of African leaders who made themselves big men through their own talents and courage in the wake of colonisation. But instead on continuing waging their fathers’ struggles in an African continent faring so poorly, they cash in on their name to get into more or less profitable, more or less licit business.
In Paris as in Abidjan, the sons of … no longer honour their ancestors…