Claude Guéant's trial for "fraud" postponed to October 11 for medical reasons

Europe 1 with AFP 11:53 a.m., February 15, 2022

"Claude Guéant wants to be able to explain himself": the trial of the former Minister of the Interior, who was to be tried from Tuesday in Nanterre for "fraud" of campaign expenses, has been postponed to October 11 and 12 for medical reasons.

The essential man of the Sarkozy presidency, now 77 years old, was also to appear for "illegal financing" of his legislative campaign of 2012, after the distribution of a leaflet in his favor by the mayor UMP (now LR since ) from Boulogne-Billancourt.

The postponement of this trial scheduled for two days was requested by his lawyer, according to whom Mr. Guéant was operated on Monday and must benefit from a month of convalescence.

According to his counsel, a "pathology was revealed" by the incarceration of Mr. Guéant, who had been detained in the prison of Health from December 13 to February 9 in the context of another case - a first for an ex-tenant of Beauvau - and who has since benefited from parole.

At the hearing on Tuesday, his lawyer Me Philippe Bouchez El Ghozi assured that "Mr. Guéant wishes to be tried in person".

"He wants to be able to explain himself in this case," he insisted.

"In-depth" medical expertise

"The dismissal seems to me to be necessary", conceded the prosecutor Nathalie Foy, asking the court to order a medical expertise "in depth and perfectly objectified" of the state of health of Mr. Guéant.

The court accepted.

"It is in the interest of justice that all (the defendants) can be confronted with this bar", continued the prosecutor.

Claude Guéant is not the only one to be tried in this case.

Four defendants were present at the hearing on Tuesday, including Pierre-Christophe Baguet, LR mayor of Boulogne-Billancourt, tried for "illicit financing" of the campaign.

The prosecution accuses MM.

Baguet and Guéant for having sought to have the city of Boulogne-Billancourt finance electoral propaganda expenses in support of the candidacy of Claude Guéant.

What these two defendants formally contest.

Mr. Baguet is being prosecuted for having, between December 2011 and current 2012, granted Mr. Guéant "a donation by giving instructions to the communication department (...) in order to print and distribute a letter of support for the candidacy of the person concerned", declared the president of the court, reading the alleged facts.

Guéant must be retried in the Elysée polls file

Mr. Guéant is notably accused of having "knowingly understated" elements of his campaign accounts and "exceeded the fixed ceiling".

The city of Boulogne-Billancourt has "suffered no damage", assured AFP before the hearing the mayor's lawyer, Me Mario Stasi.

For his part, Mr. Guéant's lawyer stressed, before the hearing, that the National Commission for Campaign Accounts had "been fully aware" of the situation.

"Where is the scam, from the moment the Commission knew?" He was indignant to AFP.

Another part of the case concerns the offense of favoritism, for which two employees of the town hall and the manager of a printing works, as well as the printing works as a legal person had to appear.

Regarding the former Minister of the Interior, in addition to this trial, the legal adventures continue.

Mr. Guéant must be retried in the Elysée polls file, after appealing his conviction, on January 21, to one year in prison - including eight months - for favoritism.

He also remains indicted in the case of suspicions of Libyan financing of the presidential campaign of Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007.