Paris Police Lurches from one Scandal to the Next

Already under the cosh for a scandal involving 52 kilo-grammes of cocaine, the Paris criminal police department has suffered a further stain on its reputation after a top boss was suspended over alleged leaks.

Known in France by its address "36 quai des Orfevres" and immortalized in the novels of Belgian crime writer Georges Simenon, the department has suffered months of embarrassment.

The latest blow fell late Thursday, when the boss of its powerful investigative force was charged and suspended over suspicions he leaked details of a probe to another top official under investigation.

The accusations against Bernard Petit marked the first time the head of the "police judiciaire" (known by its French initials PJ) has faced charges.

He is accused of feeding information to Christian Prouteau, the former chief of the GIGN elite military police unit, who was arrested last October in a case relating to fake documents being given to illegal migrants.

Prime Minister Manuel Valls said it was the "decision that had to be made."

"Bernard Petit is a great police officer. But when you are in that job, there cannot be the slightest doubt. Everyone has to be exemplary in the job they occupy, especially when it is a job with that much responsibility," said the prime minister.

Petit, 59, was himself appointed in controversial circumstances, replacing Christian Flaesch who was sidelined by Valls after tipping off an ally of former former president Nicolas Sarkozy about a case.

The "36" was already reeling from allegations in April from a Canadian tourist that two elite officers raped her, in a case that sent shock waves through the country.

And then, in a further embarrassment, 50 kilo-grammes of seized cocaine, with an estimated street value of two million euros ($2.2 million) vanished from police headquarters.

A 33-year-old officer was charged in connection with the theft but there has still been no sign of the drugs, with one source saying they appeared to have "vanished into thin air".

The suspect was seen by a police officer leaving the building with bags filled to the brim on the night of the theft.

Last month, three additional officers were brought before investigative judges probing the case.

In total, six people have been charged over the July 2014 theft from a secure room in the police headquarters overlooking the River Seine close to the Notre Dame Cathedral.

Despite the rape case and cocaine, Petit continued to enjoy the confidence of the government.

"It's difficult to blame him for anything in these two cases but it leaves a stain," said one investigator who declined to be named.

One member of a police union said: "The irony is that he had the reputation as a boss who could steer a firm course in a storm, and who could take a hard line.

"He was seen as whiter than white. If the facts are proven, it's really a case of him being hoisted by his own petard," he added. 

Another veteran joked: "We thought we'd hit the bottom of the barrel but we were wrong. We're still digging."