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Corruption: a growing phenomenon among civil servants
Everyday corruption affects certain public services. In exchange for confidential information or a helping hand, certain civil servants receive a gift or a sum of money. A phenomenon that is growing. – (France 2)
Everyday corruption affects certain public services. In exchange for confidential information or a helping hand, certain civil servants receive a gift or a sum of money. A phenomenon that is growing.
In Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), a video shows a senior official accepting cash in return for a public contract. These images led to the conviction of the senior official. In Paris, it is a pound boss who is suspected of having bribed police officers. This daily corruption affects all administrations, and it continues to increase. In Bayonne (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), justice is preparing to judge a resounding case. For five years, an agent from the sub-prefecture intervened in the driving license file, to prevent his friends from losing points.
350,000 French people face corruption in one year
In most of these cases, officials are involved, notably police officers, and this sometimes leads to prison. This is the case of Christophe Boutry, former brigadier in Internal Intelligence, sentenced to five years of imprisonment for selling confidential information.
The number of corruption cases handled by the police and gendarmerie is increasing. From 170 in 2016, they increased to 248 in 2021, an increase of 46%. According to the French Anti-Corruption Agency, this increase is the consequence of better detection, but also the mark of greater pressure from organized crime on society. According to a recent report from the Ministry of the Interior, more than 350,000 French people say they have been confronted with a situation of corruption in one year.
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