Doubts but no proof to incriminate François Bayrou in the affair of European parliamentary assistants. The president of MoDem was acquitted on Monday February 5 "for the benefit of the doubt" by the Paris criminal court.
“For me it is a nightmare of seven years which has just ended with a decision without challenge from the court,” declared François Bayrou, 72, leaving the courtroom. In this case, two other defendants were also acquitted.
The eight others, including five former MEPs, were however sentenced to suspended prison sentences of 10 to 18 months, fines of 10,000 to 50,000 euros and two years of suspended ineligibility.
In particular, the former Minister of Justice Michel Mercier was given an 18-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 20,000 euros and Jean-Luc Bennahmias a 12-month suspended sentence and 30,000 euros in fines. fine.
The UDF was fined 150,000 euros, including 100,000 euros, and the MoDem was fined 350,000 euros, including 300,000.
According to the courts, there was indeed misappropriation of public funds in this case, with parliamentary assistants having been paid from European Parliament funds to carry out tasks for the benefit of the parties.
“No proof” against François Bayrou
However, "it does not appear from any document" in the file that François Bayrou, who was on trial for complicity in embezzlement of public funds, asked the five European deputies "to fictitiously employ parliamentary assistants", underlined while reading the judgment the president of the court. “There is no evidence to confirm that Mr. Bayrou was aware of the non-execution of parliamentary assistant contracts,” he added.
“It is very probable” that the acts committed by three of the defendants were done with “the authorization of Mr. Bayrou,” he said. However, "there is no proof of this authorization", indicated the magistrate, before pronouncing the acquittal of the boss of the MoDem, "for the benefit of the doubt".
Considering him guilty of acts "undermining the values of probity and exemplarity that he promotes", the prosecution had requested against him 30 months of suspended imprisonment, a fine of 70,000 euros and three years of ineligibility with reprieve.
The public prosecutor accused him of having been the “main decision-maker” of a “fraudulent system” which consisted, between 2005 and 2017, of using European funds to pay parliamentary assistants who in reality worked for centrist organizations in France .
At the helm, the boss of MoDem denounced judicial “intoxication”, refuting at length the existence of any “system” for the benefit of his party.
An affair that thwarted his political plans in 2017
This decision clears François Bayrou's political horizon, while government appointments could be announced "Monday or Tuesday", according to an executive advisor. However, he described as "rumors" the hypothesis, among others, that the boss of the MoDem was part of it.
This affair completely thwarted the plans of François Bayrou, whose offer of alliance contributed to the election of Emmanuel Macron. In 2017, returning to the government for the first time in twenty years, he left Place Vendôme after a month, just after the opening of the investigation.
Since then, Emmanuel Macron's doctrine has evolved significantly: ministers have been able to remain in office until their trial is held. Tried for illegal taking of interests, the Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti, was acquitted on November 29, a definitive decision.
The Minister of Labor, Olivier Dussopt, appeared for favoritism: he was ousted during the reshuffle – just before the decision which acquitted him on January 17. The financial prosecutor's office, however, appealed.
The investigation into the MoDem was opened after the report of a far-right MEP, Sophie Montel, in response to one targeting the FN at the time, a party which she then left. In this case, Marine Le Pen was referred to justice in December, alongside her father, her party and numerous executives. They will be tried in the fall of 2024 on suspicion of embezzlement amounting to 6.8 million euros between 2009 and 2017.
With AFP
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