"I did not lie to you," assured Alexandre Benalla, Monday, during his second hearing in the Senate. Did Emmanuel Macron's former collaborator tell the whole truth, especially about obtaining and returning his diplomatic passports after his dismissal? "I am not sure," responds on Europe 1 the co-rapporteur of the Senate commission of inquiry, Jean-Pierre Sueur (PS).
At the hearing, "justice had good back". At the hearing on Monday, the one who was in charge of mission at the Elysee until his dismissal, August 1, 2018, often retrenched behind the ongoing judicial investigation to refuse to answer senators. Like its president Philippe Bas (LR), obviously annoyed, the commission has "not at all appreciated this speech of circumstance", admits Jean-Pierre Sueur at the microphone of Matthieu Belliard. "Justice had good back, it was invoked when it was convenient," denounces the Socialist senator.
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"Shocked" by his non-responses. The co-rapporteur was also "very shocked" when Alexandre Benalla refused to talk about his current activities, even though he acknowledged that he had not seized the Public Service Ethics Commission after his dismissal, as he would have done. however, it had to be done to ensure that there was no conflict of interest between his old and new functions.
>> READING - What to remember from Alexandre Benalla's second hearing in the Senate
"Many areas of shadows and contradictions". Jean-Pierre Sueur points out "many areas of shadows and contradictions" compared to the versions of Emmanuel Macron's chief of staff Patrick Strzoda, the Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Yves Le Drian and the Minister of the Interior Christophe Castaner, heard last week by the senators. But "one thing is needed" at the end of these hearings, says Jean-Pierre Sueur: "it is that there have been many dysfunctions (...) both at the Elysee and within the ministries" .
From there to estimate that the young man of 27 was protected? "Many facts show that the reactions that should have been those of the administration to him have not been the ones they should be.We will draw the conclusions that you want ...", says Jean- Pierre Sueur. While waiting for those of the commission, the conclusion of the day, it holds in only a few words: "Alexandre Benalla did not convince us, it is clear".