Bettencourt and her daughter end their feud

L’Oréal cosmetics heiress Liliane Bettencourt and her daughter Françoise Bettencourt Meyers have resolved their legal dispute, according to

an Associated Press report.

Bettencourt Meyers’ lawyer, Olivier Metzner, told the AP that his client and her mother, who had long been estranged, recently met. “We are bringing an end to all procedures given this familial reunion,” he said.

Bettencourt Meyers had accused her mother’s friend, François-Marie Banier, of bilking Bettencourt out of 1 billion euros in cash, artworks and gifts. The AP report said it was unclear whether a trial involving Banier will still be held.

The feud became a political scandal when leaks by former employees of Bettencourt alleged that the treasurer of French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s party received funds from the heiress to illegally finance Sarkozy’s election campaign. The AP report noted:

As the mother-daughter dispute escalated, Bettencourt raised questions about the future of the company when her daughter inherits L’Oréal, the world’s biggest cosmetics company.

(Source: Associated Press, Dec. 6, 2010.)