Unsolved Mysteries: The President, the Movie Star, and the Murdered Bodyguard

The Marković Affair Is France’s Biggest Political Scandal, but Who Pulled the Trigger?

Political scandals are not unusual anywhere in the world, with power, sex, and money often inspiring terrible crimes. From affairs with aides, plots to kill, and the involvement of Soviet spies, issues such as the Monica Lewinsky scandal in the US or the Jeremy Thorpe and Profumo affairs in the UK have been fodder for the tabloid press ever since its very beginning. However, few of these gossip-fuelled incidents actually involve a murder, which places France’s Marković Affair in a category all by itself. From the streets of Yugoslavia to the corridors of power, with claims of nude photos, blackmail, and the possibility that a French President may have ordered a murder, the Marković Affair remains an enduring mystery.

Stevan Marković was born on May 10, 1937, in Belgrade, then part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. After an early childhood during the Second World War, Marković and his cousin Miloš Milošević became well known as street fighters in the city during the time of communist President Tito. Marković’s skills on the street brought him to the attention of Serbian gangster Nikola Milinković, eventually being well acquainted enough that he was one…