TG:
Discuss the origins of L’Orèal and Eugene Schueller
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| Eugène Schueller at the helm of his yacht |
TS: Eugène Schueller, son of a baker and a domestic
servant, was kind of a Horatio Alger figure who transcended his humble roots to
attain a position of enormous wealth and power in France. Armed with a degree
in chemistry, in invented a synthetic hair dye that gave birth to L’Oréal in
1909. The company prospered, expanded overseas, and eventually became the
world’s number one cosmetics group. In addition to his brilliance as a chemist
and entrepreneur, though, Schueller nursed far-right political views and
financed one of the most notorious pro-fascist movements, La Cagoule, in the
1930s. He continued to support pro-German groups during Word War II, and actively
collaborated with the Nazi occupiers. His wealth and connections allowed him to
escape conviction in the post-war “épuration” trials, but as I document in my
book, Schueller was not just an economic collaborator but a political supporter
and informant of German security officials. After the war, he recruited a
number of French collaborators and Nazi sympathizers into the ranks of L’Oréal,
a fact that caused the company great embarrassment with it was revealed in the
1990s.
TG:
What is the significance of L’Orèal and other marquee brands to France’s image
and economy?
TS: L’Oréal is considered a “fleuron” of French
industry—that is, a kind of flagship company that is important not just
economically but also in terms of national prestige. L’Oréal is not only a
major employer and tax contributor, but an emblem of France’s image as a fount
of luxury, elegance, refinement, and glamour. This is also true of the big
couture houses—YSL, Chanel, Dior, Cardin—and purveyors of luxury goods like
LVMH. But L’Oréal’s position as the world’s number one cosmetics firm gives it
an especially lofty status as a symbol of French prestige.
TG:
You explore several issues in your book that need to be explained to American
audiences.
•
French political campaign financing and the way that politicians circumvent it
•
French inheritance laws and the legal system that applies-no trial by jury
TS: French laws governing political financing are much
more restrictive than U.S. laws. In the U.S, the existence of PACs and the Citizens
United decision means, in effect, that there are no real limits on political
funding. This is why the U.S. has the most expensive political campaigns in the
world, and why major donors like Sheldon Adelson and the Koch brothers have an
obscenely disproportionate weight in our electoral system. In France,
individual contributions to political campaigns are currently limited to €7,500
($8,800) per candidate per election, and companies are forbidden to make
political donations. To circumvent these limits, French parties and politicians
have historically resorted to a variety of illegal methods, including kickbacks
on public works contracts, channeling money through cutout companies, and
undeclared cash payments by donors like André Bettencourt. Bettencourt was a well-known
and much solicited source of illegal political financing, which explains why he
was given numerous cabinet positions over the years.
As for the French inheritance laws, they are still
rooted in the Napoleonic Code. French law requires parents to leave an
incompressible proportion of their estate to their children. In the case of an
only child like Françoise Bettencourt Meyers, that portion is 50%. The
remainder of the estate, known as the quotité
disponible, may be left to anyone. In fact, Liliane Bettencourt had already
bequeathed 92% of her estate to her daughter in 1992, so there was no legal
barrier to her giving the rest to François-Marie Banier if she so chose. The
daughter’s legal challenge was not based on inheritance laws but on her claim
that Banier had taken advantage of Liliane’s declining mental powers. The suit
was tried before a panel of three judges, since jury trials are only used in
the case of violent crimes in France.
TG:
Discuss the young Liliane, her marriage to André Bettencourt, her relationship
with her daughter Françoise Bettencourt Myers and ultimately her relationship
with François-Marie Banier.
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| Liliane, André, Françoise, 1988 |
TS: Liliane’s mother died when she was five. She was
raised by her father, Eugène Schueller, whom she idolized almost to the point
of obsession. In 1950, she married André Bettencourt, scion of a respected
family from Normandy. Schueller had actively encouraged the marriage, but it
was far from a perfect match for Liliane. A closet homosexual, and a mediocre
man with no diplomas of any kind, André busied himself with a political career
funded by his wife’s money. Meanwhile, Liliane had a difficult relationship
with her introverted daughter, Françoise, more interested in her books and her
piano than the active social life Liliane wanted her to lead. For all her
wealth, Liliane was bored, lonely, and depressed. When Banier entered her life
in 1987, he opened the doors to a whole new, exciting world of art exhibits,
theater, museums, witty conversation, glittering company. She fell in love with
him—though it was a platonic affair given Banier’s sexual orientation and the
25-year age gap between them. As their relationship developed, she began to
shower him with artworks, cash, real estate, life insurance policies totaling,
on paper at least, nearly a billion euros. She justified all this as patronage
meant to fund Banier’s artistic career as a photographer, writer, and painter.
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| François-Marie Banier and Liliane Bettencourt |
Banier encouraged and accepted her extraordinary
largesse, but he also had a genuine affection for her. Theirs was a complex
relationship, but it would be mistake to reduce the whole thing to a cynical
manipulation by a self-serving gigolo. Did Banier take advantage of their
relationship for material gain? Undoubtedly. But I’m convinced that Liliane was
a willing and knowing benefactor. The amounts involved seem mind-boggling to
ordinary folk—myself included. But bear in mind that what she gave Banier was a
tiny fraction of her overall fortune, and a fraction of the company stock she
has already willed to her daughter.
TG:
At the end of the day, although the alleged witness tampering by Françoise is
yet to be adjudicated, what is the impact of L’Affaire Bettencourt?
TS: The scandal has definitely tarnished the image of
the Bettencourt family in public opinion. Before it erupted, the Bettencourts
lived discreetly, scrupulously avoiding the media spotlight. The suit launched
by Liliane’s daughter in 2007 suddenly exposed the whole family to the harsh
glare of public scrutiny. All the dirty laundry came out in the press—Liliane’s
father’s murky past as a suspected Nazi collaborator, L’Oréal’s postwar
infiltration by ex-Nazi sympathizers, André Bettencourt’s anti-Semitic wartime
articles, Liliane’s health problems and creeping dementia, Françoise’s jealousy
of Banier and resentment of her mother, secret Swiss bank accounts and tax
evasion schemes, and of course the torrent of L’Oréal dividends that Liliane showered
on Banier. Today, André is dead, Liliane lives in the fog of senility, and
Françoise is under investigation for allegedly bribing a witness. Not much
glory in all that for the once proud Bettencourts.
As for Banier, it is true that he will face no prison
time and, on appeal, managed to avoid a ruinous fine. But he must live with the
fact that he was found guilty in court of abusing the weakness of Liliane
Bettencourt—he is a convicted felon. The case poisoned ten years of his life,
cost him millions in legal fees, and gravely damaged his reputation. Today, 70
years old, he continues to work and enjoy a comfortable material life, thanks
to Liliane’s millions. But he is in many ways a wounded, disgraced, and broken
man.
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| Ex-Presdent Nicolas Sarkozy |
Another victim of the Bettencourt Affair, at least
indirectly, is Nicolas Sarkozy. At one point, he was put under formal
investigation for allegedly accepting illegal campaign funds from the
Bettencourts. Though those charges were dropped, the former president remains
under investigation in a related case. Along with numerous other legal and
political embroilments, the Bettencourt Affair contributed to his failed
re-election bid in 2012 and his unsuccessful comeback attempt this year.
If there is a lesson in all this, perhaps it’s that we
should not envy the super-wealthy. Their riches often bring more problems than
they solve. This affair always reminds me of the opening line to Tolstoy’s Anna
Karenina: “All happy families are alike. Each unhappy family is unhappy in its
own way.”
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