PARIS/ZURICH, (Reuters) – Switzerland’s permanent representative at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris, Stefan Flueckiger, has been arrested for drunk-driving by French police after a high-speed car chase, police sources said on Tuesday.
Police spotted a speeding Mercedes with diplomatic licence plates in downtown Paris on Sunday night and tried to stop it, but the 54-year-old driver raced on towards the police officers until they shot out one of his tyres, the sources said.
The driver was then arrested and taken to the police station, where tests showed his blood alcohol was far above the legal limit, but was released after his diplomatic immunity had been confirmed.
The Swiss Foreign Ministry confirmed that its envoy to the OECD had been stopped by police and said it would lift his immunity if France requested it. It declined to comment further.
Flueckiger was appointed to his post in 2010.
