Former French Prime Minister Édouard Balladur Dies at 97

Édouard Balladur, a former prime minister of France, has died at the age of 97. Current Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu announced the death on social media, and the family stated that a private Mass would be held.

Serving as prime minister from 1993 to 1995, Balladur oversaw the privatization of state-owned firms. His tenure was heavily defined by France's military intervention during the 1994 Rwandan genocide. While President of Rwanda Paul Kagame accused French forces of participating in massacres, Balladur consistently defended the actions as humanitarian and dismissed accusations of complicity as a "self-interested lie."

Balladur's later political life included a failed 1995 presidential bid against his former ally Jacques Chirac. He also faced a prolonged legal battle regarding the "Karachi affair," a corruption scandal involving kickbacks from submarine sales to Pakistan. Although other officials were convicted, Balladur was acquitted of complicity in the misuse of funds in 2021.