Vincent Bolloré

When the French billionaire industrialist Vincent Bolloré was placed under formal investigation by Paris prosecutors on suspicion of bribing foreign officials in Africa commentators wondered whether it was the end of an era...

Vincent Bolloré's lawyer Olivier Baratelli and Groupe Bolloré deny any wrongdoing...

Vincent Bolloré's friendship with the former French President Nicolas Sarkozy has been well documented (AC Vol 48 No 10 L'Avenir c'est Sarko)...

President Condé of Guinea announced in May that he would be seeking compensation for what he has called 'slanderous denunciation' after being named in Vincent Bolloré's indictment...

Kings and buccaneers Vincent Bolloré variously called 'le Petit Prince' and 'the King of Africa' for his wide-ranging interests on the continent has locked horns with another buccaneering Western businessman determined to secure an empire in the region...

Condé has no visible ties to any of the candidates but a prominent member of Medef Vincent Bolloré happens to be a good friend of both Condé and French centre-left candidate Emmanuel Macron (AC Vol 54 No 6 Condé's rainbow fades away)...

Celebrities at the dinner in Abidjan the Friday before Sunday's attack included Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (wife of French ex-President Nicloas Sarkozy) French comedian Jamel Debbouze film star Catherine Deneuve and two of France's wealthiest industrialists with African interests Martin Bouygues and Vincent Bolloré...

A final communications plank came from Condé's business backers in France: most important was Vincent Bolloré who won the contract for Conakry's lucrative container-handling business shortly after Condé was elected for the first time (AC Vol 54 No 6)...

Headed by Vincent Bolloré the conglomerate has the concession to operate the upstream river terminal at Bangui in Central African Republic...

They include his old school friend the French former Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner who helped to secure the contract to operate the Port of Conakry for his friend the industrialist Vincent Bolloré...

The contract was supposed to be a boon for French businessman Vincent Bolloré the biggest player in Gabon’s port and logistics sectors...

Piracy has been cutting into earnings at Cotonou Benin’s main port where French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s friend Vincent Bolloré had a lucrative operating contract...

Observers had already noted Sarkozy’s personal connections with Vincent Bolloré and Martin Bouygues whose companies are deeply involved in Africa...

All three candidates have close ties to France’s political and commercial elite such as President Nicolas Sarkozy and business magnates Martin Bouygues and Vincent Bolloré...