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L?Oreal's Bettencourt ready to declare war on daughter

By Attracta Mooney

The feud between France’s richest women, L’Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt, and her daughter is waging on, with the 88-year-old now planning to declare “nuclear war”.

Speaking to the Journal du Dimanche, her lawyer, Jean-Rene Farthouat, said Bettencourt was ready for battle and would attempt to reclaim the €15 billion in shares that she previously gave François Bettencourt-Meyers.

"I saw Liliane Bettencourt on Friday, and she is in favour of nuclear war," he said.

Bettencourt fell out with her only daughter in 2007, when Bettencourt-Meyers claimed a society photographer had manipulated the heiress into parting with nearly €1 billion in gifts.

Although the pair later reconciled, this was short lived and Bettencourt-Meyers now wants her mother to be put under legal wardship, claiming she no longer is in command of her mental faculties.

Last week, it was reported that prosecutors in France launched an investigation to find out whether anyone exploited the octogenarian, who recently underwent a medical examination to determine her mental status.

A French judge is expected to decide today (4 October) whether Bettencourt should be placed under legal wardship.

Both women sit on the board of the cosmetics company, which was founded by Bettencourt’s father in 1909. They collectively own 31% of the Clichy, France-based family business.  

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