Ex-minister convicted for fraud

A former junior minister for the disabled has been convicted of fraud by a French court.

Michel Gillibert, 59, was found guilty of conducting five bogus associations using 1.3m euros of public money.

He was given a three-year suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay a 20,000-euro ($24,000) fine.

Gillibert - who denied the allegations - was in office from 1988 to 1993, during the Socialist presidency of Francois Mitterrand.

The court said Gillibert had created five fictitious associations to help the disabled, using the funds to benefit himself and some of his collaborators.

He "conceived, decided and benefited" from the embezzlement, which "allowed to him to lead an extravagant lifestyle", the court said.

"Such behaviour coming from a minister of the republic is particularly reprehensible," the court said in its ruling.

Gillibert - a tetraplegic - was given a suspended sentence, after the court ruled that a jail sentence was incompatible with his condition.