TRUE OR FAKE: Did the government call on consulting firms to manage the pandemic?

On the move, Monday March 28, in Dijon (Golden Coast)President Emmanuel Macron answered questions from journalists about the use of consulting firms during his five-year term, and what it cost. “Look at what is behind this spending and you will see that the main thing is spending linked to the crisis and new risks on which there were no state powers”said the president. Emmanuel Macron added that these expenses were mainly dedicated to the IT sector and cybersecurity. But is this true?

In the report of the Senate Commission of Inquiry, published in mid-March 2022, the expenses related to the management of the epidemic of VSvid-19 actually represent a small part of the expenses. “The cost of consulting firms in the pandemic, from what we know, (…) we are around 40 million euros. So I don’t see how expenses of 40 million can constitute the bulk of more than a billion”asks Matthieu Aron, journalist at theObs and co-author of the book “Les infiltrés: how the consulting firms took control of the state”. With regard to expenditure relating to new risks, the rapporteur of the Commission of Inquiry admits that it “do not know” what it covers. Emmanuel Macron had also explained to mobilize private resources because they do not exist in the public. A false reasoning for the reporter because multiple officials “are able to assume the missions entrusted to private firms”.