Photographer faces trial for 'defrauding' heiress

PARIS - A celebrated French society photographer is to stand trial for allegedly defrauding the principal shareholder of L'Oreal out of almost €1 billion ($2.2 billion) by taking advantage of her age and confused mental state.

The daughter of Liliane Bettencourt, 86, the wealthiest woman in France, has brought a legal action for "abuse of weakness" against Francois-Marie Banier, 53, a writer-turned-photographer who is part of the Parisian fashion and art set. The case will be heard in September.

In her first public comment on a family feud that has gripped France for more than a year, Bettencourt's daughter, Francoise Bettencourt-Meyers, claimed she was acting "in the interests of her mother" who had been "absolutely encircled" by "Banier and his friends".

Bettencourt-Meyers promised she would hand over "for charitable purposes" the €993 million in cash, art and life insurance policies she claims her mother has given Banier in a seven-year period.

Liliane Bettencourt owns one third of the shares of the giant French cosmetics company, L'Oreal. She is the second wealthiest person in France and one of the 10 wealthiest women in the world.

She has rebuffed all attempts by her daughter, and the French legal system, to make her undergo independent checks on her mental condition.

- INDEPENDENT