French Assembly Chief And Macron Ally Charged Over Property Deal
Muhammad Irfan Published September 12, 2019 | 02:37 PM
French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday he was sticking by his close ally Richard Ferrand after the assembly president was charged with conflict of interest over a property deal
Lille, France, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 12th Sep, 2019 ) :French President Emmanuel Macron said Thursday he was sticking by his close ally Richard Ferrand after the assembly president was charged with conflict of interest over a property deal.
The allegations against Ferrand first emerged in 2017, causing embarrassment for Macron who had just won power on a pledge to rejuvenate France's corruption-plagued political class.
Ferrand, who had been appointed a minister in Macron's first cabinet, stepped down but later made a comeback after prosecutors dropped the case, saying there was no basis for a prosecution.
The matter did not end there however.
In 2018, an anti-corruption organisation filed another complaint against Ferrand, forcing the case, which relates to a property deal involving a health fund Ferrand once headed, to be re-opened.
In the early hours of Thursday the magistrates leading the probe announced they had decided that the case should proceed and charged Ferrand with conflict of interest.
Reacting to the announcement, Macron said Thursday that Ferrand still had "all my confidence", government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye said.
Speaking to Europe 1 radio Ndiaye called Ferrand a "loyal, upstanding man with an exemplary political career" and said that there was no reason for him to step down.
But the opposition was quick to react to the charges with calls for Ferrand to resign.
"Being charged does not signal guilt but a serene public debate supposes that those who exercise national public roles resign pending the decision of the justice system," Socialist leader Olivier Faure tweeted, a call echoed by Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, the leader of a small anti-EU party.
- Blow for Macron - The allegations against Ferrand, one of Macron's first backers when he ran for president, were first revealed by the Canard Enchaine investigative weekly in 2017.
The paper claimed that in 2011 a public insurance fund that Ferrand headed in his native Brittany agreed to rent a building from Ferrand's wife and carry out renovations that boosted its value.
Ferrand, 57, denied any wrongdoing saying his wife made the fund the best offer and that he had no say in the matter.
In a statement sent to AFP Thursday Ferrand said was "determined to continue (his) role" as the president of the lower house of parliament, which he has held since September 2018.
He said he was "serene about the outcome of the investigation", arguing that no new evidence had been brought forward since 2017 in the case "in which there is neither harm caused nor victim." The charges against France's fourth-most important public figure, nonetheless deal a blow to Macron, who campaigned on a promise to make politics more ethical.
They come as another key ally of the 41-year-old leader is under scrutiny in a series of investigations over suspected fake jobs in the European Parliament.
Francois Bayrou, head of the centrist MoDem party which is allied to Macron's Republic on the Move party was questioned Wednesday by anti-corruption police over claims that MoDem used EU money for parliamentary assistants to create fake jobs for party members.
Marielle de Sarnez, a MP who briefly served as European Affairs minister in 2017, was also questioned.
A day earlier France's pick for the European Commission, Sylvie Goulard, was also questioned by police this week over the claims involving her former party.
MoDem is however not the only party accused of fraudulently using EU money to fund party work in France.
The far-right National Rally (ex-National Front) also being investigated over similar allegations.
Related Topics
Recent Stories
HEC reviews curricula for environmental sciences degree programme
ICC Asia looking forward to an action-packed Asia Cricket Week
Yuvraj Singh named ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 Ambassador
Greece hands Olympic flame to 2024 Paris Games hosts
Two Kyiv hospitals evacuating over feared Russian strikes
World must act on neurotech revolution, say experts
Charles & Catherine's cancer diagnoses
Champions Alcaraz and Sabalenka through in Madrid Open
King Charles to resume some public duties during cancer treatment: palace
US defense chief announces $6 bn in security aid for Ukraine
Heavy rains cause damage to Spezand-Taftan railway track
Woman stabbed in Israel, attacker killed: police
More Stories From World
-
NFL will allow players to wear Guardian Cap helmets in games
4 hours ago -
Football: German Bundesliga table
4 hours ago -
Football: Italian Serie A result
4 hours ago -
Football: German Bundesliga results
4 hours ago -
US troops to leave Chad in second African state withdrawal
4 hours ago -
Plastics pollution may be solved without production cap: Canada minister
4 hours ago
-
Biden stalls on menthol cigarette ban fearing Black vote backlash
4 hours ago -
Champions Alcaraz and Sabalenka through in Madrid Open
4 hours ago -
6,000 French police to welcome Olympic torch amid bonus boost
4 hours ago -
Taiwan hit by several quakes, strongest reaching 6.1-magnitude
5 hours ago -
'Ballistic' Bairstow stars as Punjab pull off record T20 chase
5 hours ago -
Tennis: ATP/WTA Madrid Open results - 2nd update
5 hours ago