Grenoble (AFP)
The EELV mayor of Grenoble Éric Piolle will appear on March 1, 2022 before the criminal court of Valence for suspicion of favoritism in the award of a public contract, the city of Grenoble told reporters on Tuesday.
The ecologist councilor will be tried before the Drôme jurisdiction alongside "several former territorial agents" of the city for "alleged facts of granting unjustified advantages", specifies the city in a press release.
Justice suspects the municipality of having awarded a public contract without competition to an association for the organization of a popular festival which has been held every year since 2014 on one of the main arteries of the city.
The town hall, for its part, believes that in this specific case it was a public contract with an adapted procedure (MAPA) for an artistic service that did not require competition.
"The Public Prosecutor's Office of Valence did not follow this analysis and refers to the court the entire hierarchical chain and decision of the city of Grenoble which led to this choice", adds the city, which was made part civil.
On June 1, Eric Piolle was taken into police custody and heard by the financial brigade of the judicial police of Valence, where the case was disoriented.
In May 2018, the Valence prosecutor's office opened a preliminary investigation following a report from the Regional Chamber of Accounts (CRC), which found "several significant irregularities" in its annual report.
This report indicated in particular that the municipality had, against the advice of its public procurement department, twice awarded - in 2015 and 2016 - the organization of part of the "Tile Festival" to the association "Fusées ", close to the municipal majority.
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