The French government of President Emmanuel Macron is increasingly on the defensive because of its cooperation with external consulting firms, and of all things just before the first round of the presidential election next Sunday.
On Wednesday, the French public prosecutor's office announced that it had launched a preliminary investigation into suspected tax fraud.
The American consulting firm McKinsey is not mentioned by name in the announcement.
But the wording suggests that the investigation is aimed at him.
The announcement by the public prosecutor's office gives the political debate about the role of consultants a legal side.
The debate originated in a commission report by the French Senate led by the opposition Republicans.
It criticized the sharp increase in consultant fees during Macron's tenure.
The senators also criticized "non-transparent tendering procedures" and the proximity of the consultants to sensitive information.
In addition, the senators concluded that McKinsey had not paid any corporate tax in France in the years 2011-2020.
The company fought back, stressing that its French subsidiary Orphoz did pay corporate tax for at least six years and all McKinsey units in France together paid more than 422 million euros in taxes and social security contributions, which corresponds to almost 20 percent of sales, during the period in question .
"kidding"
However, that only fueled the debate.
Arnaud Bazin, under whose direction the Senate report was prepared, called the reference to the McKinsey subsidiary without further information on profit and sales figures a "cheating".
The Senate also accused McKinsey director of public services Karim Tadjeddine of false testimony under oath by swearing that his company was a corporation taxpayer and is taking legal action.
For Macron, the debate comes at an inopportune time.
"If there is evidence of tampering, it should be prosecuted," he said.
Macron otherwise justified the consultant's fees, among other things, with the fact that for one-off orders it is cheaper to hire an external person than to hire a civil servant.
When asked about the investigations by the financial attorney's office on Wednesday evening on French television, Macron called it "very good" that the allegations of fraud were being checked by independent lawyers.
Through template for opposition
Economics Minister Bruno Le Maire added on Thursday that the tax authorities have been combing through McKinsey's books for several months.
The review was initiated last November, long before the Senate report was published.
"I don't know if (McKinsey) doesn't pay taxes," Le Maire said, promising that once the audit is complete, the company will pay "everything" it owes the French state in taxes.
For the opposition, the fact that some McKinsey advisers personally took part in Macron's presidential campaign in 2017 is a steep template.
"Emmanuel Macron's entire policy is in line with McKinsey's global recommendations: weakening of social protection and the state apparatus in the form of gradual privatization," said right-wing presidential candidate Marine Le Pen.