2024-07-27 03:33:26
Again, the government refused publicly on Friday to give Anticor approval to intervene in corruption cases, a position that was immediately opposed by the group as a “rot process”. Founded in 2002 “to fight corruption and restore political order”, Anticor has been fighting for more than a year to regain its accreditation.
The “citizen party” is involved in more than 160 processes including the award of the Soccer World Cup to Qatar, the investigation into the illegal acquisition of interests targeting the general secretary of the Élysée Alexis Kohler, who is close to Emmanuel Macron, or of sale of Alstom’s power sector to General Electric.
Since 2015, this provision has allowed to intervene in legal proceedings, including political-financial issues, in particular by becoming a civil party in the event of negligence by the prosecution. This process often allows investigations to be restarted with the appointment of an investigating judge.
“Government is playing for time”
The government has until Wednesday evening at midnight to respond to its new request for approval received on January 25. But no decision was published on Friday morning in the Official Journal, which was denied in accordance to the group.
“For more than a year now, the government has been playing for time by responding either to our requests for approval, or to our requests for background information,” said Paul Cassia, the group’s leader. “This commission of corruption is worrying for what it says about the relationship of the executive to the fight against corruption,” he said.
The group, which had almost 7,000 members in mid-July, appealed to the Paris administrative court to get the annulment of this illegal rejection. A summary hearing is scheduled for August 7, at 10 am. He also asked Matignon to explain this choice and submitted a new request for approval, the third, to the Prime Minister.
Funded by its members only
The association lost its approval in May 2023 after two objections took the matter to the administrative court, considering the irregular renewal process and that Anticor did not meet the required conditions.
The association affirms that it respects the five conditions necessary for the renewal of its approval, in particular “the disinterested character and independence of its works, which is particularly appreciated with regard to the origin of its resources” . It does not “receive public contributions or corporate donations” and is “financed only by contributions from its members and donations from individuals”, it said in its application for approval.
Already in December, the “absolute decision of denial”
In June 2023, the Paris administrative court revoked the order signed in April 2021 by then Prime Minister Jean Castex, which also approved this approval for three years. Then the administrative appeals court confirmed this cancellation in November 2023. Anticor then submitted, in June 2023, a new application for approval.
This request was entrusted to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna, due to the departure of the Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti and then of the former Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, due to the risk of conflicts of interest.
But when the six-month deadline expired, in December 2023, the minister did not respond to the renewal request, which was “an absolute decision of refusal”, according to a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The group challenged the cancellation of its approval before the Council of State and the lack of response from the government before the administrative court. Two processes are still in progress. Asked by AFP, Matignon recalled on Friday that “when the Prime Minister (When the Prime Minister)Gabriel Attal) took office, a rightful rejection was born” and he “contested before the administrative court”. “Given the time frame of the process, it seems appropriate to wait for the outcome of the ongoing litigation,” according to Matignon. The hearing may take place in the fourth quarter of 2024.
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