François Bayrou, tried in the case of the MoDem parliamentary assistants, this Monday, February 5, is acquitted. The court considers the complicity of the MoDem boss “very probable”, but explains that proof of this has not been reported.
12:56 – Summary of the judgment at the trial of François Bayrou
In the case of the MoDem parliamentary assistants, eight out of eleven defendants were convicted and three were acquitted. François Bayrou was released “for the benefit of the doubt”, due to lack of evidence that he had knowledge of or gave instructions regarding the misappropriation of public funds. The former director general of MoDem was acquitted for lack of material evidence and a parliamentary assistant prosecuted for concealment of embezzlement of public funds was also acquitted.
All the other defendants – five former MEPs, the treasurer of Modem, the former Minister of Justice and party treasurer Michel Mercier and the party’s former financial director – were sentenced to sentences ranging from 10 to 18 months in prison. suspended, fines of 10,000 to 50,000 euros and two years of suspended ineligibility.
Finally the MoDem party and the former UDF are respectively sentenced to a fine of €350,000 of which €300,000 is firm and €150,000 of which €100,000 is firm for complicity and concealment of embezzlement of public funds having committed “double deception” .
12:40 – A reassuring decision for Le Pen and the RN?
If François Bayrou is relieved after being acquitted in the case of the MoDem parliamentary assistants, the court decision is also good news for the National Rally. The far-right party is the target of accusations of embezzlement of public funds in the European Parliament, Marine Le Pen and 26 other people are also sent to court in the fall of 2024. A conviction of the centrist would have sent the wrong signal to the RN, but an acquittal even pronounced “for the benefit of the doubt” allows the boss of the extreme right to hope for a similar outcome or at least the absence of a penalty of ineligibility. This court decision may also be of interest to LFI, which is also targeted by accusations of this type and targeted by a judicial investigation since 2018.
12:28 – The MoDem can hope to be present in the government
While he pleads with the Head of State for his party to be better represented in government, François Bayrou can hope to be heard, at least more than he would have been in the event of his conviction this Monday. The boss of MoDem wants to have at least four ministers from his party in addition to Marc Fesneau already appointed to Agriculture.
12:14 – Bayrou released, but the MoDem condemned
If François Bayrou is acquitted, his party “is sentenced to a fine of 300,000 euros for complicity and concealment of embezzlement of public funds having committed ‘double deception'”. The UDF, the former center party merged into the MoDem, was fined 100,000 euros.
12:10 – “The target of this whole affair, alas, was me”
François Bayrou insisted on the point of the verdict which concluded that there “was no system” put in place and that there had been no “personal enrichment” of anyone. François Bayrou soberly rejoices at this “negation of accusations which have lasted for years and years”. “The target of this whole affair, unfortunately it was me. But the most serious waste is the human waste” added the centrist, mentioning in particular the death of Marielle de Sarnez, appointed Minister of European Affairs in 2017 before to resign a month later, at the same time as François Bayrou, because he was implicated in the parliamentary assistants affair.
12:01 – “A nightmare of seven years which has just ended” for Frenchman Bayrou
“What satisfies me is that proof has been provided that there was no desire to misappropriate the European Parliament’s public funds,” declared François Bayrou as he left the courtroom. For him, it is “a nightmare of seven years which has just ended with an uncontested decision from the court”, but the boss of the MoDem regrets the consequences of this affair: “I think of the waste that this represents: a waste political since we have been banned from responsibilities, a financial waste and a human waste”.
11:46 – The acquittal of François Bayrou revives rumors about his arrival in government
François Bayrou, acquitted in the parliamentary assistants affair, remains in the running to perhaps join the government during the reshuffle which must take place in the coming hours. Some consider it likely that the boss of the MoDem will join the executive, perhaps to replace Amélie Oudéa-Castéra at National Education, while others consider the hypothesis improbable. The fact that the reshuffle comes after the verdict in the François Bayrou trial is seen by some as a sign that this appointment is at least being considered.
11:33 – The involvement of François Bayrou is considered “very probable” but is not proven
The court considers that it is “very likely” that François Bayrou was aware of the misappropriation of public funds, but considers that the proof concerning his involvement or the instructions he would have given is not reported. “We cannot deduce guilt from a hypothesis, François #Bayrou is therefore acquitted with the benefit of the doubt” declared the president of the court as indicated by a journalist from CNews.
11:26 – François Bayrou is relaxed
François Bayrou is acquitted in the affair of the MoDem parliamentary assistants.
11:25 – “No evidence” which proves that François Bayrou gave instructions
The court added that “no document in the file shows that François Bayrou gave instructions to European deputies for the hiring of parliamentary assistants” now report the journalists of Marianne And BFMTV.
11:22 – “No element” proves that François Bayrou had knowledge of the fraudulent contracts
“The court considers that no element in the file proves that François Bayrou was aware of the non-execution of the 10 disputed parliamentary assistant contracts” declared the president when reading the judgment.
11:19 – Last expected verdict, that of François Bayrou
All the verdicts have been rendered, only that concerning the president of the MoDem remains. Before him, out of the ten defendants, eight were convicted and two acquitted.
11:11 – Two MoDem executives sentenced
Two MoDem executives were convicted at the trial of François Bayrou. Alexandre Nardella, former financial director of the party, is found guilty of complicity in embezzlement of public funds and is sentenced to 18 months suspended sentence, 20,000 euros fine and 2 years suspended ineligibility, while Michel Mercier, former minister of Justice and party treasurer is sentenced for embezzlement of public funds to 18 months suspended, 20,000 euros fine and 2 years suspended ineligibility, reports a journalist from Marianne present at the trial.
10:58 – The reading of the judgment is in progress
It has been half an hour since the president began reading the judgment. The verdict was rendered concerning five defendants and all were sentenced to sentences often higher than the prosecution’s requisitions. The sentences range from 10 to 18 months of suspended prison time, fines of 10,000 to 50,000 euros and two years of suspended ineligibility.
10:47 – François Bayrou decided to return to the head of MoDem
The verdict concerning suspicions of complicity by instigation of embezzlement of public funds could also be decisive for the future of the MoDem. The party meets in Congress on March 24 and 25 to, among other things, elect its president. François Bayrou, currently in this position, seems determined to remain at the head of the party. “He always projects himself as if he were 20 years old! He is not someone who wants to withdraw,” declared the president of the MoDem group in the Assembly, Jean-Paul Mattei at Parisian. But this ambition to remain the leader of the centrist party could be prevented by a conviction of ineligibility or by the consequences it would have on the influence of François Bayrou.