- Tweeter
republish
The President of the National Assembly Richard Ferrand was indicted Thursday, September 12 for illegal taking of interests in the case of Mutuelles de Bretagne, suspected of having favored his companion. Although Emmanuel Macron has announced he will keep " all his confidence ", Richard Ferrand may not keep his wallet.
Early morning, the camp of President Emmanuel Macron went to the front to defend Richard Ferrand , as the spokesman of the government, Sibeth Ndiaye who announced that the President keeps him " all his confidence ", or the boss of the deputies walkers, Gilles Le Gendre, who recalled the presumption of innocence.
While the government applies the case law " a minister indicted must resign ", it is criticized the majority not to apply to the president of the National Assembly , very destabilized at the beginning of the case, in 2017.
Is this position tenable for the fourth state figure? Does not it risk to reflect on Emmanuel Macron, cantor of an exemplary Republic? For the moment, in the opposition, we are cautious. Republican party boss Jean Leonetti is not asking for his resignation, but is opening the debate: " Is not he altering the credibility of public speech ? Can the fourth character of the state afford to calmly perform his duties with a suspicion that is not negligible ? "
Other political leaders go further, like the first secretary of the Socialist Party Olivier Faure, boss of the Socialists, who asks for his resignation. Richard Ferrand could try to hide behind his promise, a few months ago, not to resign in case of indictment and resist the onset of political storm.
The indictment does not sign the guilt but the serenity of the public debate supposes that those who exercise national institutional functions resign while waiting for the decision of justice. #ConfidenceInThePublicLife https://t.co/vohsnTnXWt
Olivier Faure (@faureolivier) September 12, 2019For Anticor, Richard Ferrand "disrupts the functioning of democracy" and must leave
For the lawyer Anticor anticorruption association, Richard Ferrand can not maintain his position in the current state. The association is also behind the second complaint that led to this indictment. For a first investigation had pushed him to resign from the government, before being dismissed.
In June 2017, the Brest public prosecutor opens a preliminary investigation. A few months later, he invokes the prescription of the facts to classify without follow-up, the facts alleged against Richard Ferrand go back to 2011. The prescription in France is three years for the offenses.
For the anticorruption association lawyer Me Jérôme Karsanti, Richard Ferrand can not stay in his current position 12/09/2019 - by Marie Casadebaig Play
" The question of prescribpion is not over "
Anticor is not surprised by this reading of the law, according to Jérôme Karsenti, the lawyer of the anti-corruption association: " We have a usual practice of the prosecutor's office which classifies without continuation, being a politician leading. So Anticor has seized by means of a complaint and constitution of civil party a judge of instruction. And the judge of instruction for the coup is independent .
If there is indictment, this time the issue of the prescription of facts, revealed by the press in 2017, is not decided anyway e : " Lawyers are not scientists. They have approaches to a truth. On the side of Anticor, the prescription could begin to run only from its revelation by the Chained Duck. She could not start running in 2011 because she was camouflaged, she was hidden, was occult. It is this debate that has not been strictly settled by the investigating judge. The issue of prescription is not a discussion that is over . "
This question could indeed be raised very quickly by the defense of Richard Ferrand if he appealed his indictment. It could also impose itself in debates in court or why not the Court of Cassation.