Karl Lagerfeld slams French president as “imbecile”October 19, 2012 - 18:17 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Paris-based German fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld has slammed the French president as “an imbecile” whose “disastrous” policies “will drive the rich out of France”. The comments were made in an interview for the Spanish edition of Marie Claire magazine, extracts of which were published on the website of Spanish daily El Mundo on Friday, Oct 18, France24 reported. “This imbecile, he’ll be just as disastrous as [former Spanish premier José Luis] Zapatero,” he told the magazine, which he is guest editing for its 25th anniversary. Hollande hates the rich. He clearly wants to punish them - they’ll leave [the country] and nobody will invest,” he said. “Foreigners won’t invest, and things will stop working. Apart from fashion, jewellery, perfume and wine, France has no edge," said Lagerfeld. "Nothing else sells. Who buys French cars? Not me.” Just two weeks ago, France’s richest man, businessman Bernard Arnault, pledged to move to Belgium to escape Hollande’s stiff tax increases on the rich, including a proposed 75% tax rate on incomes of more than €1 million. Laurence Parisot, the CEO of powerful French business federation Medef, told French radio RTL on Thursday that while Lagerfeld “has talent, he is also a provocateur and can be rude. (...) Hollande is certainly not an imbecile.” Lagerfeld also accused the king of Spain, Juan Carlos, of not being good enough for his wife, Queen Sofia, who the designer said he “adored”. “The queen is the most gallant person in the world. She shouldn't have to put up with the king’s foolishness,” he said. Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | IDBank, Dalma team up for Caucasian Deer Reintroduction Program IDBank has joined Dalma Garden Mall’s Green Challenge to support the Caucasian red deer reintroduction project. Through Ucom’s support the 12th Sunchild Festival concludes On May 24-28, with the support of Ucom, the 12th international environmental festival Sunchild took place in Yerevan. U.S., Turkey emphasize importance of Armenia-Azerbaijan peace deal Jake Sullivan and Akif Cagatay Kilic have discussed the normalization process between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Armenia coach expects good football in Slovenia friendly The Armenian national team has left for Ljubljana a friendly match against Slovenia on June 4. |