Paris Mayor Too Weak For Jail Seen Dancing In Street

This viral footage with over 2.1 million views shows Patrick Balkany, the former mayor of the rich Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret, who was deemed too old and weak to be jailed for tax evasion dancing energetically in the street.

The footage, which was posted online by the Ligaments Croises Twitter handle, comes just a few months after Patrick Balkany was released from prison on health grounds.

The clip where he dances to “afro” music during France’s “Fete de la Musique” has notched up over 2.1 million views in less than 24 hours.

Speaking to Newsflash, the Ligaments Croises Twitter user confirmed that the footage was shot “yesterday at the fete de la musique in Levallois”.

Patrick, 71, and his wife Isabelle, 72, who made international headlines when they were sentenced to jail for tax evasion, had been running the rich Parisian suburbs of Levallois-Perret for close to 40 years as mayor and deputy.

Credit: Newsflash/LigCroises

Patrick Balkany had been held at the infamous Paris prison called La Sante, but he was released on compassionate grounds due to his “poor health.”

They are close friends with former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, and whenever Mr Balkany was impeded from running the commune due to his many legal problems, his wife would step in and take over running the affluent town on the outskirts of the French capital.

They were both convicted last year of hiding at least 13 million EUR from the French taxman by using complicated offshore company structures from 2007 to 2014.

Credit: Newsflash/LigCroises
This viral footage with over 2.1 million views shows Patrick Balkany, the former mayor of a rich Paris suburb who made international headlines when he was jailed for tax evasion, dancing in the street to “afro” music during France’s “Fete de la Musique”

They reportedly have two luxury villas called Serena and Pamplemousse in Saint-Martin, an island in the Caribbean which partly belongs to France.

The Serena villa could reportedly be rented out for well over 30,000 USD during the holiday season and French investigators found proof that Patrick Balkany had acquired it using a company registered in Lichtenstein.

French prosecutors had also alleged they owned a sumptuous villa in Marrakesh which had been obtained in murky conditions involving Mohamed Al-Jaber, a wealthy Arab businessman educated in London.

The latest conviction of the pair was on 27th May on tax evasion and fraud, which they have appealed.

Credit: Newsflash/LigCroises
This viral footage with over 2.1 million views shows Patrick Balkany, the former mayor of a rich Paris suburb who made international headlines when he was jailed for tax evasion, dancing in the street to “afro” music during France’s “Fete de la Musique”

To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Joseph GolderSub-EditorMichael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash

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