Paris (AFP)

With the departure of François de Rugy following revelations including ostentatious dinners, Mediapart causes the second resignation of a minister after Jerome Cahuzac. Here are the main cases revealed by Mediapart concerning politicians.

. François de Rugy

At the center of a controversy over excessive spending, François de Rugy announced his resignation Tuesday while considering himself victim of a "media lynching", and announcing to have filed a complaint in defamation against Mediapart.

In a survey published last week, with photos, the site described "the life of castle on public funds of the husband and wife of Rugy", with the story "of feast between friends worthy of great state dinners", with lobsters and great wines, when M. de Rugy presided over the National Assembly.

Mediapart then revealed that the minister had had expensive work done in his apartment, that he occupied social housing in Nantes and that his chief of staff, sacked since, had unduly kept a flat rent (HLM ).

Former subscriber of the site, Mr de Rugy had accused the journalists of the site Friday to have the "fantasy of the cutters of heads", denouncing "false statements", "a tendentious presentation" and a "militant bias".

"Mediapart has only done its job and will continue to do so," Fabrice Arfi told AFP on Tuesday. "The resignation of Mr. Rugy, who belongs only to him and the government, shows one thing: the information was stronger than the communication."

The resignation came just before the site published a new survey on the use of his business expenses as a Member of Parliament.

. Jérôme Cahuzac

In December 2012, Mediapart accuses Jérôme Cahuzac, cantor of the fight against tax evasion, of having held until early 2010 "an undeclared bank account at the Union of Swiss Banks (UBS) of Geneva" before moving its holdings at UBS Singapore. The site is based in particular on a note from a former tax official, then on a recording where a man - Jerome Cahuzac, says the newspaper online - worries about his account "open to UBS".

The Minister for the Budget speaks of "delusional" charges and then lodged a complaint for defamation, with the support of the Ayrault government and President Hollande.

On 19 March 2013, the public prosecutor's office opens a judicial inquiry for "laundering tax fraud" and states that the voice of the registration is probably, according to the expertise of the police, that of Mr. Cahuzac. The minister resigns.

. Aquilino Morelle

On April 18, 2014, Aquilino Morelle had to leave his post the day after the publication of a Mediapart article accusing him of conflicts of interest. According to the online site, he had received 12,500 euros from the Danish laboratory Lundbeck, in 2007, while he was stationed at the Igas (Inspectorate General of Social Affairs).

Mediapart also revealed that Mr. Morelle had brought a shine to polish his luxurious shoes in a lounge of the Marigny hotel, near the Elysee. The anecdote, symbolic, had wreaked havoc on public opinion.

. Denis Baupin

Green MP Denis Baupin resigned in 2016 from his position as Vice-President of the National Assembly, a few hours after being blamed by environmentalists for "harassment" or "sexual assault" on Mediapart and France Inter.

Mr Baupin, replaced by François de Rugy as Vice-President of the Assembly, had lodged a complaint for defamation against the journalists and the women who accused him. But the trial, tried last April, turned against its instigator: if the remarks were recognized as "defamatory" in the absence of adversarial debate, the defendants were recognized "in good faith" and relaxed. And Denis Baupin, dismissed, was sentenced for abusive procedure.

© 2019 AFP