C'est La Vice

By Bruce Crumley/Paris

Christmas was no holiday for JEAN-CHRISTOPHE MITTERRAND, and New Year's brought even less to celebrate. The eldest son of the late French President was expected to ring in 2001 from the Paris prison cell he'd occupied since Dec. 21, when he was detained as part of an inquiry into illegal arms sales to Angola. Investigators found evidence that arms dealers paid $1.8 million into Mitterrand's Swiss account between 1993 and 1998. This has left Mitterrand open to charges of complicity in arms trafficking and tax fraud, not to mention influence peddling. From 1986 to 1992, Mitterrand fils served as chief adviser on African affairs to his father, a position investigators suspect he may have exploited to facilitate the arms deal with Angolan officials. It will be months before it's known whether the case will make it to trial, but the prospects for Mitterrand's immediate future will be determined this week, when his request for release is expected to be heard.

--By Bruce Crumley/Paris