Police chase Swiss diplomat through Paris
The Swiss Foreign Ministry has lifted diplomatic immunity for the Swiss diplomat who was at the centre of a high-speed police chase through Paris on Sunday night. Tests later showed the man's blood alcohol level was above the legal limit.
When police tried to stop the Swiss representative at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) who was speeding through the streets of Paris’s fifth arrondissement in a Mercedes, the diplomat carried on driving, prompting officers to shoot out one of the car’s tyres. The man was eventually stopped driving the wrong way down the Boulevard St.Germain.
The 54-year-old driver was taken to the police station, where tests showed a blood alcohol level above the French legal limit of 0.05 milligrams per milliliter of blood.
The diplomat was released from custody once diplomatic immunity was confirmed.
However, after carrying out its own “administrative investigation”, the Swiss foreign ministry decided to lift the diplomat’s immunity, communicating the decision to its French counterpart on Wednesday.
The OECD diplomat was said to be cooperating fully with the French police.
In compliance with the JTI standards
More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here. Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.