Paparazzi Released, With Caution

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PARIS: The paparazzi are free, but they cannot breathe easy. Judge Herve Stephan has placed all seven of the photographers arrested at the scene of Princess Diana's car crash under investigation for possible charges of involuntary homicide and failing to come to the aid of accident victims. Two were released on $16,000 bail, and are forbidden to snap pictures for profit until the judge decides whether the case warrants a trial.

Police reports that chauffer Henri Paul was driving after having consumed nearly four times the French legal alcohol limit may have deflected some attention from the photographers, but lawyers for the seven continue to protest that their clients are being unfairly characterized as "paparazzi." They insist the snappers were on the scene after the crash, rather than being involved in a high-speed chase of Diana's car. One even claims his client actually checked the Princess's pulse while taking pictures of the wreckage. If this is true, it may save the photographer's skin as far as France's Good Samaritan Law is concerned. The court of public opinion may not be so forgiving.