French culture minister in new scandal after ‘boy sex’ row

French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand was back in the spotlight yesterday for standing as character reference for two rapists after a row over his admission of paying “boys” for sex.

Mitterrand, an urbane television personality and a nephew of former Socialist president Francois Mitterrand, adopted a pugnacious tone and threatened legal action over what he said was a “new orchestrated campaign of insensitive calumny”.

Mitterrand told a news conference in Bordeaux, southwestern France, that he “will launch legal action against those who are complicit in the latest ignominy”.

Earlier in the day, Mitterrand – who was in Bordeaux for the opening of an art exhibition – was jostled by about 30 far-right supporters who screamed ‘Hands off our children’, and ‘Mitterrand resign’.

Marine Le Pen, the vice-president of the far-right National Front party, yesterday lambasted Mitterrand for being a “false witness” and “trying to directly influence a judge” with his testimonial.

The latest scandal emerged just after Mitterrand seemed to have ridden out a furore over his 2005 autobiographical novel La Mauvaise Vie (The Bad Life), in which the hero describes paying Asian boys for sex.

Mitterrand had angrily denied having ever engaged in paedophile acts or condoning sex tourism.

“I absolutely condemn sexual tourism (and) I condemn paedophilia in which I have never in any way participated, and all the people who accuse me of that type of thing should be ashamed,” the 62-year-old told TF1 television.

The latest controversy emerged after a French newspaper said Mitterrand had testified to the “good character” of two youths in the French overseas territory of La Reunion charged with the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl.

The minister yesterday said he was godfather to one of the youths, whose mother is a former make-up artist, and underlined that his letter was a “gesture of compassion and generosity” to a “modest” family in “great distress”.

He underlined that he had met his godson “three times in (my) life”.

“Is it not a shame that this letter has found its way in all the Internet networks?” he said, calling it an “ignominy”, a “shame,” and “manipulation”.