AS A teenager, Christine Lagarde represented France as a synchronised swimmer. She flourished in that discipline by displaying unusual levels of endurance and flexibility. Ms Lagarde, who has been the boss of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) since 2011, may again have to draw on the same qualities. On December 19th a court in Paris convicted her in a case related to her spell as French finance minister, nearly a decade ago. But because its ruling looks half-hearted—it imposed no fine or prison term—she may find a way to keep her post at the fund.
Ms Lagarde and others had not expected a guilty verdict (indeed, her supporters suggest she is a victim of a political vendetta). After all, even the prosecutor had tried to withdraw the case, after more serious charges were dropped. But the Court of Justice of the Republic, made up of more politicians than judges and which tries only senior political figures, ruled it should proceed.
It found she had been negligent in the use of public money over her decision, in 2008, to allow an out-of-court settlement in a legal dispute between the government and a businessman, Bernard Tapie. That...Continue reading
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