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.
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