Bernard Tapie is charged

Bernard Tapie, the French entrepreneur turned politician, was charged yesterday with misuse of funds at one of his companies, Julian Nundy writes from Paris.

An examining magistrate in the northern town of Bethune charged Mr Tapie with 'abuse of social goods' at his Testut domestic scales firm. Mr Tapie, 50, who was minister for towns in the Socialist government which was voted out of office last March, was kept in the Bethune courthhouse for five and a half hours to answer questions.