Senator owed €18k in road fines

A GREEN party politician who sits on the Senate's finance committee amassed €18,000 in driving fines, a report has claimed.

Investigative weekly Le Canard Enchaîné says Jean-Vincent Placé - whose committee role involves keeping an eye on police spending - owed authorities for about 100 offences dating back before 2010.

The Europe-Ecologie-Les-Verts senator for the Essonne said he "accepts responsibility" for the fines, which were first sent to the Ile-de-France regional council because it is the legal owner of the car.

The newspaper has published details of a letter from the region telling Placé to "urgently settle his debt" after the Paris préfecture de police sent reminders to the council.

The letter appears to have been leaked by a council worker, as it has not yet been signed - and the senator has not received it.

Placé said in a statement that he had settled the actual fines with a cheque in the region of €7,000 and was negotiating with the central processing body in Rennes about the remaining penalties for late payment.

He added that he "wasn't a numbers man" or "very good with paperwork".