destroyed all of the documents. Giscard d'Estaing responded on television, brandishing another copy of the report which he had in his own possession, and claiming that its existence proved that the entire affair was simply a case of political manoeuvring. This proved to be a bad idea; the report was seized and subsequently published in full. On 2 January 1984 it was released live on television by the new prime minister, Pierre Mauroy. Mauroy sarcastically accused Barre and Giscard of trying to cover up the embarrassing story. Giscard appeared on television a second time, attacking Mitterrand for "having allowed his predecessor to be attacked". The Economist claimed that Mitterrand used his influence to have a public investigation into Giscard quashed. Bonassoli reappears In January 1984, Bonassoli held a press conference in Italy, claiming that he would hand over all the data on his machine to the Italian National Research Council (CNR). He also stated that the Soviets had expressed an interest in the machine. When asked about the claims of fraud, Bonassoli simply replied that the machine had been greatly improved since the 1970s. Nothing ever came of the announcement. References Notes Bibliography Robert Hutchinson, Their Kingdom Come – Inside the Secret World of Opus Dei, pp. 153-158, Doubleday, 1997, Jean Guisnel, "Als Elf-Erap freudig erbebte", Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German), January 1994 Daniel Singer, "AutoWorkers and 'Sniffing Planes'", The Nation, 25 February 1984 "Jean Violet", Lobster: The Journal of Parapolitics, Issue 18, 1989 "Big Stink", Time, 30 January 1984. Andrew Lloyd, "Bizarre theories of Bonassoli", New Scientist, 19 January 1984 "Foes Blame Giscard for Sniffer Plane Scheme", The New York Times, 22 November 1984. R. T. Naylor, Hot Money and the Politics of Debt, pp. 258-261, McGill-Queen's Press, 2004, Confidence tricks Hoaxes in France 1979 in France 1984 in France Political scandals in France TotalEnergies Valéry Giscard d'Estaing