Investigators of Diana’s Death Begin Examining Fiats

PARIS —  More than two months after Princess Diana’s death in a car accident, police have begun examining 40,000 Fiats across France to find one that may have been involved. And some magistrates and police, miffed at the vast efforts still being made, are saying, “Enough already.”

“This was an accident, not a terrorist attack,” said Jean-Claude Bouvier, a judge in the Paris suburb of Bobigny and secretary-general of a left-leaning union of magistrates. “I have never seen such a deployment of people and a lavishing of resources on what, after all, was an incident involving a car. It was a terrible thing, since it caused the death of Lady Diana. But it was a road accident.”

“We can’t permit that one citizen be granted preference by the law, even if she’s a princess,” Jean-Louis Arajol, head of the largest police union in the Paris region, told one local newspaper.

Two investigating magistrates and two dozen detectives from the Criminal Brigade of the Paris police--a quarter of the unit’s staff--are still assigned to the case. And this week, officers across the country were called on to assist in the effort.

The 40,000 Fiat Unos and their owners are being checked because white paint marks on the Mercedes-Benz in which Diana was traveling indicate that the limousine may have sideswiped the smaller, Italian-made vehicle before crashing. Examining the paint and doing other tests on the shattered Mercedes have already cost French authorities about $338,000, according to one estimate leaked to Paris media but contested by other sources.

Diana’s companion, Dodi Fayed, and driver, Henri Paul, were also killed when the Mercedes slammed into a concrete pillar in a tunnel in Paris on Aug. 31. Fayed’s English bodyguard survived but has said he cannot recall the circumstances of the accident.

Post-mortem examinations showed that Paul was legally drunk at the time of the crash.

Jehanne Collard, a Paris lawyer who handles many traffic accident cases, has branded the extensive investigation of Diana’s death “a real scandal” because the probes of about 60% of similar car wrecks in France are closed without anything much being done.

One unnamed judge, quoted by the newspaper France-Soir, called the probe into the princess’s death “ridiculous . . . a waste” because Paul’s death deprived authorities of a target for the most serious criminal charges.

Authorities reportedly have set no ceiling on the public funds to be spent on this investigation, and it is already “one of the most imposing and most costly of the decade,” according to Le Figaro newspaper.

Bouvier complained that the probe has been given even higher priority than the one that led to war crimes charges against former Vichy official Maurice Papon, now on trial in Bordeaux.

Magistrates handling the complicated probe of Papon’s actions had to juggle a full load of other work, Bouvier said. Meanwhile, their colleague who is spearheading the investigation of Diana’s accident, Herve Stephan, has been allowed to put aside about 100 other pending cases.

One explanation for pushing hard to discover all the circumstances surrounding the princess’ death is that officials must still establish what share of the blame, if any, should be borne by nine photographers and a photo agency motorcyclist who have been charged with involuntary manslaughter and failing to come to the aid of the victims.

French officials also acknowledge privately that the case has trained an unwelcome global spotlight on their country’s justice system.

Frank Masanet, secretary-general of another French police union, Difference, said: “For an exceptional person, an exceptional investigation. In some ways, the image of France is at stake,” he said.