François Bayrou must be tried this Monday, February 5 in the case of the MoDem parliamentary assistants. The verdict could be a brake on the government ambitions attributed to the centrist and close to Emmanuel Macron.
Decisive moment for François Bayrou. The boss of MoDem must be judged this Monday, February 5 in the case of European parliamentary assistants alongside ten executives and elected officials from the centrist party. Accused of complicity in embezzlement of European public funds, the High Commissioner for Planning assured that he would be present at the Paris Criminal Court to learn of the verdict expected from 10 a.m.
At the end of the trial, which was held from October 16 to November 21, the prosecution requested 30 months of suspended imprisonment, a fine of 70,000 euros and three years of ineligibility against François Bayrou. , considered the “main decision-maker” of a “fraudulent system”. This is the heaviest sentence required against the ten defendants. Requisitions justified by the facts alleged against the MoDem boss which, according to the prosecution, “undermine the values of probity and exemplarity that he promotes”. But for his part, Emmanuel Macron’s close political advisor has always contested the accusations, denouncing judicial “intoxication”.
As a reminder, François Bayrou and MoDem executives are suspected of having used European funds to pay parliamentary assistants to MEPs who in reality worked for the organization of the centrist party in France, between 2005 and 2017. This are 11 disputed contracts which are targeted for damage estimated at 293,000 euros according to the European Parliament which has filed a civil suit.
Double deadline for François Bayrou
The court decision in the case of European parliamentary assistants comes at a time when the last fifteen ministers of the Attal government must be appointed. The announcement is expected between February 5 and 7. However, several rumors suggest that the mayor of Pau is in the running to join the ministerial team, or even perhaps to replace Amélie Oudéa-Castaré, who has been plagued by a succession of controversies since her appointment to the Ministry of National Education and Sports. . The man having already been Minister of Education between 1993 and 1997, the hypothesis makes sense but could be dismissed out of hand in the event of conviction, even if an appeal will always be possible for the politician.
The arrival of François Bayrou in the government therefore once again depends on the matter of European parliamentarians. In 2017, after the election of Emmanuel Macron in the presidential election, the head of MoDem was appointed to the Ministry of Justice but was forced to resign a month later when the investigation into this matter was opened. affair.