IMPEACHMENT: Francois Hollande escapes trial for ordering spies to assassinate four
President Francois Hollande will not face an impeachment process over comments he made to two journalists that revealed French secret services had conducted four targeted killings on his orders, a parliamentary committee ruled today.
Pierre Lellouche triggered Article 68 of France's constitution earlier this month
Earlier this month a conservative lawmaker, Pierre Lellouche, triggered a process to activate article 68 of France's constitution - that allows the National Assembly to impeach the president - on the grounds the Socialist leader had breached security protocols.
A cross-party steering committee voted 13 to eight in favour of halting the impeachment call in its tracks, the leader of the National Assembly, Clause Bartolone, said in a short statement.
There was no immediate reaction from the presidential Elysee palace.
Hollande has not yet decided whether he will run for a second term
Hollande unveils plaque commemorating Stade de France victims
Few of Hollande's allies had expected the process to gain any traction. Even so, the comments, published in a book entitled A President Should Not Say that unleashed a political storm within Hollande's ruling party six months ahead of a presidential election.
Hollande, who is deeply unpopular among voters and has not yet declared whether he will run for a second term, still faces a separate judicial investigation into whether classified documents left lying on his desk in front of reporters constituted a breach of national security.
It was revealed that the French Government had conducted four targeted killings