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Geopolitics

Police Raid Sarkozy's Home And Offices In Campaign Finance Probe

Worldcrunch

LE MONDE ( France)

PARIS - Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy's home and office were raided by police investigators on Tuesday, according to Le Monde. His lawyer's offices were also raided.

The raids are part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged illegal financing of Sarkozy's 2007 presidential campaign by billionaire Liliane Bettencourt, the French heiress and main shareholder of cosmetics giant L'Oreal. Magistrates are probing whether Patrick de Maistre, who managed Bettencourt's fortune, asked her to hand cash over to Sarkozy in order to finance his 2007 run for office.

Nicolas Sarkozy's presidential legal immunity expired on June 16, a little over a month after he was defeated by Socialist François Hollande in the French presidential elections.

The former French president left for Canada on a family trip Monday and was not present during the raids, according to his lawyer, Thierry Herzog, who called the police actions: "useless acts."

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food / travel

Legalizing Moonshine, A Winning Political Stand In Poland

Moonshine, typically known as “bimber” in Poland, may soon be legalized by the incoming government. There is a mix of tradition, politics and economics that makes homemade booze a popular issue to campaign on.

Photo of an empty vodka bottle on the ground in Poland

Bottle of vodka laying on the ground in Poland

Leszek Kostrzewski

WARSAWIt's a question of freedom — and quality. Poland's incoming coalition government is busy negotiating a platform for the coming years. Though there is much that still divides the Left, the liberal-centrist Civic Koalition, and the centrist Third Way partners, there is one area where Poland’s new ruling coalition is nearly unanimous: moonshine.

The slogan for the legalization of moonshine (known in Poland as "bimber") was initially presented by Michał Kołodziejczak, the leader of Agrounia, a left-wing socialist political movement in Poland that has qualified to be part of the incoming Parliament.

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”Formerly so-called moonshine was an important element of our cultural landscape, associated with mystery, breaking norms, and freedom from the state," Kołodziejczak said. "It was a reason to be proud, just like the liqueurs that Poles were famous for in the past.”

The president of Agrounia considered the right to make moonshine as a symbol of "subjectivity" that farmers could enjoy, and admitted with regret that in recent years it had been taken away from citizens. “It's also about a certain kind of freedom, to do whatever you want on your farm," Kołodziejczak adds. "This is subjectivity for the farmer. Therefore, I am in favor of providing farmers with the freedom to consume this alcohol for their own use.”

A similar viewpoint was aired by another Parliament member. “We will stop pretending that Polish farmers do not produce moonshine for their own use, such as for weddings,” the representative said, pointing out the benefits of controlling the quality. “Just like they produce slivovitz, which Poland is famous for. It's high time they did it legally.”

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