Favouritism case: Minister Olivier Dussopt will be tried from November 27 to 30

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credits: Ludovic MARIN / AFP 15:46 pm, June 02, 2023

Labor Minister Olivier Dussopt will be tried in Paris from November 27 to 30 for favoritism in a case concerning a public contract concluded as mayor in the late 2000s with Saur, AFP learned from judicial source Friday, confirming information from BFM TV. For these facts dating from the years 2009-2010, when he was deputy and mayor of Annonay, Olivier Dussopt was summoned to appear for favoritism by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office last week.

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The water treatment group is prosecuted for concealment of favoritism, and Olivier Brousse, former leader of Saur, for complicity in favoritism, said the judicial source.

"No corruption charged," says Dussopt

In a statement following this announcement, the minister considers that "no corruption" is "accused of him", but that the PNF "considers that there remains a single grievance" on five points raised, "in this case a formal offense of favoritism in a public contract of 2009, fourteen years ago". "I have convinced the prosecutor's office of the merits of my position on the first four points, I will convince the court of the merits of my position and my good faith on this last point remaining to be decided," continued Olivier Dussopt.

The preliminary investigation for illegal taking of interest had been opened against Olivier Dussopt initially about two lithographs of the painter Gérard Garouste that had been offered to him by a company in 2017, when he was deputy mayor of Annonay. The investigation was to verify possible facts of "corruption" and "illegal taking of interest".

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A case at the heart of the mobilization against the pension reform

According to Mediapart, which had announced in early February this next trial for the minister, the search carried out at the minister's home by the financial investigators of the Central Office for the fight against financial and tax crimes had revealed a possible arrangement around this suspicious public market.

At the time, in the heart of the mobilization against the pension reform, Matignon had quickly indicated that the minister kept "all the confidence of the Prime Minister". A few days later, Emmanuel Macron had given his "total support" to Olivier Dussopt.