Two ministers of newly elected French President Emmanuel Macron — who promised a squeaky-clean government — are defending themselves against suspicions of ethical lapses just as a new law is being prepared to inject morality into politics.
No investigation was being opened against French Minister of Terrirorial Cohesion Richard Ferrand for business practices that carried undertones of potential conflicts of interest.
However, the pressure is on Ferrand because he was a trailblazer for Macron’s En Marche (On the Move) movement, among the first to sign onto the initiative that swept him to the presidency.
French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe on Tuesday evening said that despite the “exasperation of the French” Ferrand would remain in the government.
However, any minister placed under investigation would have to resign, Philippe said in an interview with France 2 TV.
Old behaviors that “are no longer accepted today, can no longer be tolerated” even if they are not illegal, the prime minister added.
French Minister for European Affairs Marielle de Sarnez was also in an unwelcome spotlight after she filed a slander complaint against a far-right European Parliament member.
Lawmaker Sophie Montel has claimed that a batch of fellow French members of the European body improperly used their EU aides for political activities in France.
Montel, who pointed the finger at colleagues, is suspected of doing the same.
She is among the National Front parliamentarians under investigation, along with party leader Marine Le Pen, for allegedly cheating the European Parliament out of about 300,000 euros (US$335,438) paid to aides who held political jobs on the side.
The Paris Prosecutors’ Office confirmed that 19 French European Parliament members were under investigation, but refused to name names.
The prosecutors’ office said that in addition to the lawmakers, more than 20 parliamentary aides are under investigation for allegedly receiving money through an alleged breach of trust.
Suspicions about Ferrand, who is close to the president, arose last week when the weekly newspaper Le Canard Enchaine reported that an insurance company struck a rental deal with a company owned by Ferrand’s romantic partner when he led the firm.
A report published in the Le Monde on Tuesday said the insurance company had contracts with both Ferrand’s former wife and his current companion.
The newspaper also reported that Ferrand advocated for a bill advantageous to insurance companies in 2012, when he was a lawmaker.
Ferrand denied any wrongdoing in a statement on Tuesday.
“I refute and condemn all the suspicions,” he said.
Macron, 39, has vowed to clean up French politics.
A law to notably prohibit politicians from hiring family members, a legal practice, is to be formally presented to the Cabinet this month.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese