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€1 fine for paparazzi at Diana's fatal crash

John Lichfield
Thursday 23 February 2006 01:00 GMT
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A French court has ordered three photographers to pay symbolic damages of €1 (68p) for taking pictures of Dodi Fayed and Diana, Princess of Wales, on the night of their fatal car accident in 1997.

The ruling by the Paris appeal court is, depending on interpretation, a vindication, or a slap in the face, for Dodi's father, Mohamed Al Fayed, who forced the case to be reopened last year.

The three press photographers, Jacques Langevin, Fabrice Chassery and Christian Martinez, will have to pay Mr Al Fayed €1 between them, but must also pay up to €6,000 to cover the cost of publishing the court ruling in three French newspapers.

Mr Al Fayed, the owner of Harrods, had refused to accept two earlier French court rulings - in 2003 and 2004 - that the photographers were merely doing their job. Following an appeal by Mr Al Fayed, the highest court, the Cour de Cassation, overturned these rulings last year and ordered the case to be reheard.

Since Diana's relatives did not pursue the case, infringements of her own privacy were not considered.

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