2008 Société Générale trading loss positions built up by Kerviel. This has led to speculation that stock market turbulence caused the Federal Reserve Board to cut the rate. A Federal Reserve spokesperson denied the central bank knew of Société Générale's situation when it made its decision. It is estimated that over the period the total trading in futures and the cash market for the Euro Stoxx 50 was €544 billion. This would make the unwinding of Kerviel’s position account for five per cent or less of overall activity. Société Générale's investment banking chief, Jean Pierre Mustier, acknowledged that the three days of forced selling played
Alleged Libyan financing in the 2007 French presidential election election campaign. In March 2018, Sarkozy-era interior minister Brice Hortefeux voluntarily appeared before French police for questioning. Several arrests have been made in relation to the inquiry. Sarkozy's political party, The Republicans, issued a statement following his arrest in which it said the former president had the party's full support. Spokesman Christian Jacob later suggested that the accusations against Sarkozy were politically motivated. Following Sarkozy's arrest, Eric Ciotti expressed confidence the former president would be exonerated. Alleged Libyan financing in the 2007 French presidential election Alleged Libyan financing in the 2007 French presidential election purportedly took the form of Libya's