2023-11-28 13:20:01
FRANCE – After the Minister of Justice and Keeper of the Seals, Eric Dupond-Moretti, another member of the Borne government finds himself in the dock. Olivier Dussopt, Minister of Labor, is accused of “favoritism” in a case dating back to 2009, linked to a public contract worth 5.6 million euros. His trial, which opened Monday November 27, 2023, is scheduled to last until November 30. The former mayor of Annonay, in Ardèche, faces a sentence of two years in prison and a fine of 30,000 euros. Just like his colleague, Olivier Dussopt, who claims to go to court to “convince yourself of your good faith”will have to resign if he is convicted.
The affair dates back 14 years, when Olivier Dussopt was mayor of Annonay. It was Mediapart which revealed, in 2020, that a manager of Saur, the third largest water company in France, had offered in 2017, during the last year to the municipality of the current Minister of Labor, two lithographs while negotiations on a new contract were underway. The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) immediately reacted, opening an investigation entrusted to the Central Office for the Fight against Corruption and Financial and Tax Offenses (OCLCIFF), for “favoritism”, “corruption” and “illegal taking of interests ”.
Suspicions of “favoritism” confirmed… by another market
It was ultimately a false lead for the PNF which ruled out these crimes, the lithographs received being of low value. However, a search of Olivier Dussopt led to a new lead: a report of a 2009 interview with the director of Saur, in which a water management contract worth 5.6 million euros was mentioned as well as than an e-mail requesting changes to the criteria of the call for tenders.
The PNF, which suspects an arrangement, retains in January 2023 the offense of “favoritism” for Saur. The trial date is set for June and the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, shows her complete confidence in him in the process. The Minister of Labor has been appearing before the Paris Criminal Court since November 27.
At the beginning of November, Olivier Dussopt expressed his optimism. “We are talking about an investigation which was closed for 80%. Four points out of five have been classified, one remains, on a market from 2009, 14 years ago. I am going to court to convince myself of my good faith. I convinced the prosecution on the first four points, I wish to convince them on the fifth”did he declare.
Alongside him, the former general director of Saur, Olivier Brousse, appears for “complicity in favoritism”. Like the Minister of Labor, he disputes the facts and promises to explain himself in court. The two defendants face two years in prison and a fine of 30,000 euros. The Saur company, accused of concealment of favoritism, risks a fine of more than 1.8 million euros.
Towards the resignation of two Macron ministers?
When she was questioned about Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, Elisabeth Borne recalled that resignation applied, as a “general principle”, in the event of conviction, however minimal it may be. A nuanced position compared to that of President Emmanuel Macron, who affirmed, during his campaign in 2017, that it was enough to indict a minister for the latter to resign…
In December 2021, at the end of Macron’s first five-year term, Alain Griset, Minister for SMEs, resigned after being sentenced, for incomplete or false declaration of his financial situation, to six months in prison and a sentence of ineligibility three years suspended sentence.
Currently, two ministers in the Borne government face charges putting their positions at risk. A few weeks before Olivier Dussopt, Eric Dupond-Moretti appeared before the Court of Justice of the Republic from November 6 to 16. He is accused of illegal taking of interests and faces five years of imprisonment, a fine of 500,000 euros, ineligibility and a ban on holding public office.
His defense relies precisely on his position as minister and the resignation that awaits him to plead for his release. Such would be, according to his lawyers“the issue” of the decision of the Court of Justice of the Republic: “A conviction, even the smallest, would lead to his resignation”.
The prosecution, for its part, requested a one-year suspended prison sentence. Eric Dupond-Moretti will be decided on his fate on Wednesday November 29.
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