Francois-Marie Banier: The French Connection Part 2 | 156

Scamfluencers

Wondery

Society & Culture

4.1 • 7K Ratings

🗓️ 28 April 2025

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Francois-Marie Banier is facing an uphill battle in French courts when he learns he’s being sued by Liliane Bettencourt’s only daughter, Francoise. When the French media learn of the accusations of financial abuse against the L’Oreal heiress, he becomes the butt of a joke, twisting the L’Oreal slogan, “Because he’s worth it.” But thanks to a nosy butler and 20 hours of secret recordings, a new scandal overtakes Francois-Marie’s melodrama: Mediapart, a scrappy, new newspaper, gets a hold of the recordings and accusations fly, this time sweeping up Nicholas Sarkozy and a web of alleged illegal campaign donations, tax shelters, and new villains in the massive tangle that is the Bettencourt Affair.

Be the first to know about Wondery’s newest podcasts, curated recommendations, and more! Sign up now at https://wondery.fm/wonderynewsletter

Listen to Scamfluencers on the Wondery App or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen early and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. Start your free trial by visiting wondery.com/links/scamfluencers/ now.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hey, scam influencers fans, Sachi here.
0:02.2	If you live for the outrageous stories and unbelievable cons that we cover, you need Wendry Plus.
0:07.2	It's like sitting in the room with us as we unravel every twist.
0:10.5	Add free a week ahead of everyone else and packed with exclusive content you won't hear anywhere else.
0:16.1	Start your free trial in the Wendry app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify now.
0:34.5	Sachi, what would you do if a personal drama got so out of hand, it ended up involving the prime minister?
0:35.5	I have endeavored for my personal dramas to end up on the prime minister's desk. I think I've gotten pretty close. Yeah, that's why honestly, I'd be impressed, and I wouldn't be totally surprised at all. I think he knows who I am. And I think he doesn't want to admit it. And I understand the impulse. Yeah, if you guys saw each other on the street, he would like avert his eyes. I mean, so would I. So would I. Well, last week we talked about how novelist and photographer, Francois Marie Benier, became best friends with billionaire L'Oreal heiress, Lillian Betancourt. Only Lillian's daughter was not so happy about it.
1:11.5	She feels like her inheritance might be at risk.
1:13.7	And this week, we're going to hear about how this family feud spills into the public sphere
1:18.9	in the most French way possible.
1:26.0	It's late December 2007 in the suburbs of Paris.
1:30.9	Olivier Metzner is smoking a cigar in the backseat of a jaguar.
1:35.5	Olivier is in his late 50s and is one of France's most feared criminal attorneys.
1:40.8	He's got silver hair, glasses, and a face deeply lined from frowning at his legal opponents.
1:47.3	Today, his driver is taking him to the office of a state prosecutor.
1:52.0	We've actually met Olivier before Sachi. He was the lawyer and lover of Alexander Despalier
1:59.6	from our Death Becomes him episode,
2:02.6	but now Olivier's working on one of the trickiest and most sensitive cases of his career.
2:08.9	That's actually why he's here today.
2:11.0	The situation is so delicate that he wants to hand-deliver the documents to the prosecutor himself.
2:18.2	Olivier sits across from the prosecutor and lays a thick stack of legal documents on the
2:23.3	desk between them.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Wondery, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Wondery and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.