Panama scandals
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Panama scandals (also known as the "Panama Canal Scandal") were a corruption affair in France in the late 19th century, linked to the building of the Panama Canal. A million francs were lost when the government took bribes not to tell the public that the Panama Canal company was in huge financial trouble.
Politicians accused of involvement included Alfred Joseph Naquet. One hundred and four legislators were found to have been involved in the corruption, and Jean Jaurès was commissioned by the French parliament to conduct an enquiry into the matter, completed in 1893 [1].
The role of two Jewish speculators in the affair enabled Edouard Drumont, an anti-Semite, to exploit the matter.
[edit] References
- ^ On the Panama Scandal, speech by Jean Jaurès, 1893 (at Marxists.org Internet Archive)