Michael Clifford: French unlikely to give up on pursuit of Ian Bailey

Should they pursue it, the next step might be to bring Ireland to the European Court of Justice for failure to recognise the murder conviction, writes Michael Clifford

The French, it would appear, are perplexed that Ireland has not handed over Bailey following his conviction by a Paris court in 2019 of the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier. File picture: Dan Linehan

Emmanuel Macron went home to France empty-handed on Thursday. You might be forgiven for thinking that some of his compatriots were hoping that he would return with Ian Bailey in shackles, perhaps trussed up in a closet at the back of the presidential plane. 

The French, it would appear, are perplexed that Ireland has not handed over Bailey following his conviction by a Paris court in 2019 of the murder of Sophie Toscan du Plantier.