Searches were carried out at the town hall and the urban community of Le Havre, led by former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe. This is taking place as part of an investigation by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office into suspicions of “illegal taking of interests, favoritism, misappropriation of public funds and moral harassment” following a complaint from a former deputy director of the urban community. This agent, who remains anonymous and whose fixed-term contract was not renewed in April 2023, denounces in particular the conditions for awarding the operation of the Cité digital du Havre, managed since 2020 by an association led by the one of the town hall deputies. This affair could become a stone in the shoe of Édouard Philippe who makes no secret of his intentions to be a candidate for the 2027 presidential election.
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THE mayor of Le Havre chose to react quickly, on BFMTV, even though the searches had not been completed on Wednesday afternoon: “ We are at the disposal of the magistrates, and we have responded, and we will answer all the questions they ask to demonstrate very calmly and in good faith that we have respected the rules. »
At this stage, there is no embarrassing “indictment” status; moreover, it is only a preliminary investigation. It still comes to impact the hitherto quiet daily life of a probable future candidate.
2027 in sight…
Discreetly, far from the spotlight, Édouard Philippe is preparing. For several months, he has been traveling across France. Very recently, he was notably in New Caledonia where he openly declared that he wanted to be candidate in 2027.
These searches also take place just before a meeting of executives from his Horizons party in Besançon, Friday and Saturday. An important political moment: the former head of government must speak out and mobilize his troops.