When Emmanuel Macron left Bercy to run for the Elysée in August 2016, he expressed the ambition to wear “a project that serves only the general interest”, strong in its ability to solicit the confidence of the French without depending on public money. Six years later, this distant image stumbles on cases in which public responsibilities and private interests seem to merge. While the head of state, who arrived in Washington on Wednesday November 30, is taking care of his international stature, three legal episodes – of different nature and scale – have weighed down the presidential camp in one week.
Latest: the shock of the Cayeux affair, which the government quickly tried to cushion with the resignation of the now ex-minister of local authorities, Monday, November 28. Except that the next day, the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life (HATVP) revealed that it had taken legal action, suspecting possible “false assessment of his heritage” et « fiscal fraud ». According to the institution, Caroline Cayeux would have reduced the value of her Parisian apartment and her house in Brittany by nearly 4 million euros – which she disputes.
In 2021, the HATVP had already noted a “strong undervaluation” of a property of the former mayor of Beauvais, who had corrected it. At the Elysée, as at Matignon, it is said that everything was in order when he was appointed. “The HATVP had told him: be careful next time, we will line you up, whispers a member of the executive familiar with the matter. We would not have imagined for a moment that she would return the amount on which the HATVP had alpagated her. »
Cacophony in government
Twelve ministers had already resigned since 2017 for ethical or judicial problems, according to a count by Agence France-Presse. The Elysée rather values a mechanism “which works well”. “We cannot discredit the executive a system designed to identify behavior that may be criminally reprehensible”supports an adviser to the Palace.
This thirteenth case, however, feeds the repetition effect, after the revelations, Tuesday, November 29, on the hearing of the secretary general of the Elysée, Alexis Kohler, indicted for “illegal taking of interests” in the case of his family ties with the shipowner MSC. Emmanuel Macron’s right-hand man is suspected of having, between 2009 and 2016, participated in eight deliberations concerning the Italian-Swiss group, then of having “persisted (…) to issue opinions or to give strategic orientations” involving MSC. Before becoming financial director of the cruise branch of MSC, without the HATVP or the Ethics Commission knowing the “exact nature” of his links, according to the magistrates. Alexis Kohler challenges everything “benefit” of this situation. At the beginning of October, Mr. Macron had judged “completely legitimate” his maintenance at the Elysée.
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