Two French journalists were arrested in Paris Thursday for attempting to blackmail the king of Morocco out of more than $3 million.
Eric Laurent and Catherine Graciet have co-authored a book about King Mohammed VI but apparently thought they could make more money keeping it unpublished. The pair was arrested after meeting with a representative of the king in a sting operation.
According to lawyer Eric Dupond-Moretti, who represents Morocco and spoke with France 24, Laurent and Graciet contacted the Moroccan palace on July 23 and a meeting was organized in Paris with a Moroccan lawyer. Laurent attended the first meeting alone and was quoted as saying, "For 3 million euros ($3.37 million), I won’t publish the book I have written with Catherine Graciet."
Following the first meeting, Moroccan authorities contacted French authorities and a second meeting was set. Both journalists attended and together signed a contract, receiving an initial payment of 80,000 euros in cash. Upon leaving the meeting point, both journalists were arrested by French authorities.
Previously in 2012, the pair wrote “The Predator King”, which depicts the Moroccan king as authoritarian and prone to cronyism. The journalists' publishers also confirmed to France 24 that the pair had in fact completed a second manuscript set for publication in January.
Both journalists have published other investigative books that shed negative light on prominent politicians and leaders. The previous book they published about King Mohammed VI caused diplomatic tensions between France and Morocco.
In his client's defense, Graciet's lawyer said, "I don’t yet have complete access to the case files but this whole business stinks of a set-up."
Our question: Will the book be published?