Two French writers face trial for blackmailing Moroccan king
- Journalists Eric Laurent and Catherine Graciet are accused of seeking millions of euros from the monarch to halt publication of a book about the royal family
- The pair were caught carrying envelopes stuffed with cash as they left a meeting with one of the king’s envoys in Paris
Two French journalists have been ordered to stand trial on charges of blackmailing the king of Morocco for allegedly demanding money to hush damaging revelations about him, court documents showed on Wednesday.
Eric Laurent and Catherine Graciet are accused of seeking millions of euros from King Mohammed VI in 2015 to halt publication of a book about the Moroccan royal family.
In August 2015, the pair were caught by police leaving a meeting in Paris with one of the king’s envoys carrying envelopes stuffed with cash.
Laurent and Graciet who had written a first book about the Moroccan sovereign in 2012 entitled Le roi predateur (The Predator King), had recently signed a deal for a follow-up when Laurent contacted the king’s office in July 2015 to seek an interview.
One of the king’s emissaries eventually agreed to meet him in Paris, where Laurent briefed him about the book project, telling him it contained potentially damaging claims about the monarchy.
The two sides differ on what happened next.