“I had the same feeling as the U.S. Ambassador,” said Henri Paul.
“They (French businesspeople in Romania, e.n.) told me what the U.S. Ambassador said, namely that they were faced with corruption,” added the diplomat.
Asked if there were explicit requests for bribes, the French Ambassador answered affirmatively. He said he advised businesspeople to go to the police.
According to Henri Paul, France signed all international conventions against money laundering.
“So, we never offer bribes, never. We can’t. It’s not the French enterprises’ deontology. French enterprises operating in Romania want to be exemplary and they are,” said Paul.
The Ambassador said he doesn’t know whether the respective businesspeople went to the police.
U.S. Ambassador to Bucharest Mark Gitenstein recently said in an interview to daily Adevarul that some U.S. companies which have invested in Romania complain Romanian officials demand bribes.
Gitenstein said he discussed with representatives of American companies already operating in Romania, which face problems regarding corruption and the lack of transparency and predictability.
“I believe it was right that he talked about this issue. It is easier for him to talk about these things,” said the French diplomat.
“Here France is a European country. (…) France’s image in Romania is different from that of the United States. We have the image of a sister, a friend, an ally. The United States have the image of a world superpower,” added the French Ambassador.