ATHENS: Maverick Greek economist and former finance minister Yanis Varoufakis on Saturday accused French police of “violent” behavior over a passport check at Paris’ main airport.
Varoufakis said he had just landed at Charles de Gaulle airport on a flight from Athens when a police officer standing near the plane ramp asked to see his passport.
Varoufakis said he complied, but claims the officer then stuck his elbows out as he tried to pass.
“The moment our elbows touched, he reacted violently,” the economist said.
“(He) manhandled me, using physical violence,” Varoufakis said, adding that the officer pushed him, grabbed his passport and told him to stand against the wall.
In a video of the scene, apparently taken by a passenger, Varoufakis tells the officer: “You are a disgrace to the French nation... you blocked my way and then pushed me.”
“I am not following you... I do not trust you. You are violent, and you are rude. I want to speak to a superior officer,” he says, irately pacing up and down the corridor.
“You are a problematic member of the police force. A disgrace to your nation. So, bring somebody else here,” he says.
Two additional superior officers had to be summoned before Varoufakis’ passport was eventually returned.
“I am formally requesting a formal apology from the French police,” he said.
One of the officers said he also plans to lodge a complaint against Varoufakis.
Airport officials could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday.
A former finance minister under leftist prime minister Alexis Tsipras in 2015, Varoufakis last week became a member of Greece’s parliament, one of nine lawmakers elected by his anti-austerity MeRA25 party in general elections.
Maverick Greek economist Yanis Varoufakis in Paris airport row
Maverick Greek economist Yanis Varoufakis in Paris airport row
- ‘I am formally requesting a formal apology from the French police’
- Yanis Varoufakis last week became a member of Greece’s parliament
Egypt’s El-Sisi accepts invite to join Trump’s ‘Board of Peace’
- Kosovo has been a close ally with the US which supported its independence from Serbia in 2008
- Italy will not take part in Board of Peace initiative, daily Corriere della Sera reports
CAIRO: Egypt’s foreign ministry said Wednesday that President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi has accepted an invitation from US President Donald Trump to join his “Board of Peace.”
Egypt “announces its acceptance of the invitation and its commitment to fulfilling the relevant legal and constitutional procedures,” the statement said, praising Trump for his Middle East policies.
“Egypt expresses its support for the Board of Peace’s mission for the second phase of the comprehensive plan to end the conflict in Gaza,” it added.
Kosovo said on Wednesday it had accepted an invitation from US President Donald Trump to join his “Board of Peace.”
“I am deeply honored by the President’s personal invitation to represent the Republic of Kosovo as a founding member of the Board of Peace, standing shoulder to shoulder with the United States in the pursuit of a safer world,” Kosovo’s President Vjosa Osmani wrote on X.
“America helped bring peace to Kosovo. Today, Kosovo stands firmly as America’s ally, ready to help carry that peace forward,” Osmani said.
Kosovo, a Balkan country of 1.6 million people, has been a close ally with the United States which supported its independence from Serbia in 2008.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said Wednesday that he has agreed to join the Board of Peace in a departure from an earlier stance when his office criticized the makeup of the board’s committee tasked with overseeing Gaza.
Italy won’t take part in US President Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace” initiative, daily Corriere della Sera reported on Wednesday, citing concern that joining such a group led by a single country’s leader would violate Italy’s constitution.
Trump’s plan has so far drawn cautious reactions from Western allies, as diplomats say it could undermine the work of the United Nations.
Norway and Sweden, meanwhile, said they would not be joining the board at this stage, following in the footsteps of France, which has expressed concern the board could seek to replace the United Nations as the mediator in global conflicts.
