PARIS, 29 April 2004 — A Qatari diplomat caught on radar speeding at 214 km an hour in the Mont Blanc tunnel between France and Italy has been recalled home, the Qatari Embassy in Paris said yesterday.
The move came one day after the Qatari ambassador to France was called to the French Foreign Ministry and told that diplomats were obligated to respect the laws of the countries in which they serve.
“The person who carried out this breach of French driving law has been sent straight back to his country where he will have to face whatever steps the authorities there choose to take,” the Qatari Embassy said.
The man, who is a third secretary but whose name has not been released, was stopped by police on April 16 after he was seen driving at more than three times the 70-km per hour limit in the tunnel, which is under strict surveillance following a deadly 1999 truck fire that killed 39 people.
But once police confirmed that he was an accredited diplomat they let him go.
Speaking on French radio network RTL Transport Minister Gilles de Robien described the incident as “revolting and inadmissible.”
