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Maybe Mark Twain was right: In war, history doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. Commentary Heiress case hits French court Thierry Leveque NANTERRE Thu Jul 1, 2010 9:54am EDT Related News France's Sarkozy suffers fresh ratings misery 8:43am EDT UPDATE 1-Kerviel lawyer blasts SocGen; trial verdict Oct. 5 Fri, Jun 25 2010 Nestle CEO upbeat as emerging markets boom Tue, Jun 22 2010 L'Oreal heiress to regularise taxes after media leak Mon, Jun 21 2010 French pension reform substantial but insufficient Thu, Jun 17 2010 French photographer Francois-Marie Banier (C) speaks to the media at Nanterre courthouse near Paris July 1, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Benoit Tessier NANTERRE France (Reuters) - A French photographer accused of leeching a fortune off Liliane Bettencourt, Europe's richest woman, went on trial on Thursday in a case that has triggered a political scandal and shaken the government. World Francois-Marie Banier was charged with taking advantage of the "frailties" of 87-year-old Bettencourt, heiress of the L'Oreal cosmetics group, and persuading her to hand over gifts worth one billion euros ($1.22 billion). The case was brought by Bettencourt's estranged daughter and both Banier and her mother have rejected her charges, insisting the gifts were made in good faith. Initially a bitter family dispute, the saga became politically explosive two weeks ago following accusations of a conflict of interest linking Bettencourt with one of President Nicolas Sarkozy's inner circle -- Labour Minister Eric Woerth. Secretly-recorded conversations between Bettencourt, whose fortune is estimated at 17 billion euros, and her advisors raised issues about the elderly tycoon's tax returns. Woerth's wife until recently worked for a firm that helped manage Bettencourt's estate and opposition politicians have asked why the minister failed to launch a full tax review of the heiress despite concerns about her fiscal situation. Woerth has angrily denied suggestions of malpractice and the case has become daily front page news in France, with an army of reporters at the opening of the trial on the outskirts of Paris. VENGEANCE The family feud emerged in the opening stages of the trial, with Bettencourt's lawyer saying his client was victim of her only daughter's machinations. "Liliane Bettencourt is at the center of a plot to humiliate her, to rob her of her dignity," said lawyer Georges Kiejman. "(The daughter) wants to get the upper hand on her mother and vengeance on her mother." If found guilty, Banier faces up to three years in prison and a 375,000-euro fine. He would also have to return the gifts, including paintings and life insurance policies. He sat in court doing sketches of the lawyers on a large artists' pad as his own attorney demanded proceedings be halted while police investigated the secret recordings of Bettencourt, that were made by her butler and handed over to the daughter. "This trial is shameful. The methods that have been deployed have become sickening and impossible," said lawyer Herve Temime. Whatever the outcome of the trial, the government is counting the cost of the collateral damage. Bettencourt has long given donations to Sarkozy's UMP party and she met Woerth in his role as UMP treasurer at a time when he was also budget minister with oversight for the tax system. Woerth moved to the labor ministry earlier this year, before the scandal broke, and his successor announced on Sunday that the authorities would carry out a review of Bettencourt's taxes after one of her advisors said he had discovered an old Swiss bank account that had not been declared. Earlier on Thursday, an opinion poll showed Sarkozy's approval rating had hit a record low, with political analysts saying the Woerth crisis had damaged his own standing. (Writing by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Janet Lawrence) World Add a Comment *We welcome comments that advance the story directly or with relevant tangential information. We try to block comments that use offensive language or appear to be spam and review comments frequently to ensure they meet our standards. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. © Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters Editorial Editions: Africa Arabic Argentina Brazil Canada China France Germany India Italy Japan Latin America Mexico Russia Spain United Kingdom United States Reuters Contact Us Advertise With Us Help Journalism Handbook Archive Site Index Video Index Reader Feedback Analyst Research Mobile Newsletters RSS Podcasts Widgets Your View Labs Thomson Reuters Copyright Disclaimer Privacy Professional Products Professional Products Support Financial Products About Thomson Reuters Careers Online Products Acquisitions Monthly Buyouts Venture Capital Journal International Financing Review Project Finance International PEhub.com PE Week FindLaw Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. 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