The long-running Bettencourt affair reached its climax on Thursday when the society photographer at the centre of the saga, François-Marie Banier, was jailed for two-and-a-half years for taking advantage of the mental frailty of billionaire L'Oréal heiress Liliane Bettencourt. Accused of “abuse of frailty”, Banier is said to have been given some 414 million euros over the course of his 20-year association with Bettencourt, now 92, including cash, works of art and insurance policies. He was given a three-year-prison term, six months of which were suspended, fined 350,000 euros and ordered to pay Liliane Bettencourt 158 million euros in damages and interest.
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