Lagarde Faces Legal Hurdle to Top IMF Post From 1993 Dispute
This article is for subscribers only.
French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde’s chances to be the first woman to run the International Monetary Fund may hinge on how she resolved a two-decade-old dispute involving a supporter of President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The Cour de Justice de la Republique, which oversees ministers’ actions in office, has until June 10 to decide whether to investigate if Lagarde abused her powers in agreeing in 2007 to send the case to arbitration. It resulted in a 385 million-euro ($550 million) award to Bernard Tapie, a former Socialist minister who endorsed Sarkozy’s presidential effort.