François Bayrou has just been appointed Prime Minister this Friday, December 13. However, he could be caught up in a legal case that has not yet been concluded.
François Bayrou has just been appointed Prime Minister by Emmanuel Macron this Friday, December 13, taking over from Michel Barnier after the vote on the motion of censure. However, the mayor of Pau is still the subject of legal proceedings in the context of the parliamentary assistants affair. In 2023, the politician appeared at first instance for “complicity in embezzlement of European public funds”, alongside ten other MoDem executives. They were accused of having used European funds to pay parliamentary assistants who actually worked for the party. Each MEP has an envelope to form a team but it must work with elected officials in Strasbourg and not at party headquarters.
François Bayrou was finally acquitted, on February 5, 2024, in the name of the “benefit of the doubt”, while eight other accused had been convicted and Le Modem had received a fine of 350,000 euros. The president of the court still judged François Bayrou’s participation or at least knowledge of the facts of embezzlement to be “very likely”, but indicated that he did not have enough tangible proof.
A new trial?
Three days later, the prosecution finally announced that it would appeal the acquittal of François Bayrou. “The prosecution contests these acquittals, considers that the facts characterize the offenses charged and that the evidence of these offenses is gathered against all the defendants,” he specified in a press release from the public prosecutor, Laure Beccuau. The appeal concerns François Bayrou and the two other people released, Stéphane Thérou and Pierre-Emmanuel Portheret, former MoDem executives.
This appeal could therefore lead to a new judgment of the one who has just been appointed Prime Minister. A situation which could prove embarrassing given that the controversy has already cost him his post as Minister of Justice in 2017. However, no date for this possible new trial has been defined to date. The boss of MoDem also assured to be confident after the announcement of the prosecution to Midi-Free : “I was cleared at first instance, it will be the same thing on appeal”.