Marianne Fund: “I have no friends among the winners”, defends Marlène Schiappa

2023-05-19 16:20:12

“These suspicions of favoritism are totally unfounded.” During an interview at magazine people Closer published on Thursday, Secretary of State Marlène Schiappa, in charge of the Social and Solidarity Economy and Associative Life, was questioned about the Marianne fund affair. This project was created in 2021 to finance projects to fight against separatism, following the assassination of Samuel Paty.

But at the beginning of May 2023, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) opened a judicial investigation for suspicions of embezzlement of public funds in the management of this fund. The Senate also launched a commission of inquiry into the “selection of projects and the allocation of subsidies” issued to the associations that won this fund, after press revelations at the end of March criticized the conditions for the allocation of subsidies and their use, in particular by two associations.

Marlène Schiappa again assures Closer that she has nothing to reproach herself with on these files and even “supports the opening of this judicial investigation”, assuring that the “suspicions of favouritism” for some of the associations selected in the fund “are totally unfounded. »

“It was not me who decided on the distribution of the funds”

Of the 17 associations that are part of the fund (out of 73 candidates), the USEPPM (Union of physical education and preparation for military service societies) is particularly under fire from critics. The latter is the main beneficiary of the fund endowed with 2.5 million euros, and obtained an endowment of 355,000 euros for few actions thereafter. The association would have even paid 120,000 euros to the two managers of the structure, according to a FranceTV survey. Another association is accused of having financed political content during the election period.

“Not only was it not me who decided on the breakdown of the funds, but I have no friends among the winners”, launches Marlène Schiappa, adding to attack in defamation anyone accusing her of “favoritism or cronyism in the awarding of grants.

According to her, her name was mentioned in this affair only to create a media buzz, “because an article titled Are there dysfunctions internal to an association within the framework of a subsidy? no one will be interested. On the other hand, if we write Marlene Schiappa with a photo where I look sad and keywords such as scandals or argenteveryone will read it.

Christian Gravel, secretary general of the interministerial committee for the prevention of delinquency and radicalization (CIPDR) – the body in charge of the administrative management of this fund – assured the Senate on Tuesday that the minister was not present during the selection of the associations for the fund, it was his chief of staff who came. And during the implementation of the fund, “everything was done, despite the constraints (…) as it should be”, he declared, explaining that he had been “extremely rigorous on the processes”.

Also asked about the rumors that she would soon be ousted from the government, Marlène Schiappa kicks in touch, declaring that it “has been repeating the same thing to me since 2017”.