“Finally!”, reacts François Bayrou, sent back to court

“There is only one word that comes to me, it’s finally!”, proclaimed François Bayrou, president of the MoDem, at the microphone of France Bleu Béarn Bigorre. The president of the centrist party learned a little earlier Thursday, March 9 that he was referred to the criminal court in the so-called case of the irregular employment of assistants to MEPs. He is suspected of having granted fictitious jobs to several parliamentary assistants. “It’s been six years since we dragged out this case”adds François Bayrou.

“We will realize that in the end, there is practically nothing left. Since step by step, we have released, exonerated, cleared, the MEPs one after the other.”

François Bayrou, president of the Modem

at franceinfo

In addition to the mayor of Pau, ten other people are sent to court in the same case. They are Michel Mercier (former Minister of Justice between 2010 and 2012), former senator Jean-Jacques Jegou, Alexandre Nardella (financial director of the Modem), or even Pierre-Emmanuel Portheret, Stéphane Therou, Jean-Luc Bennahmias, Bernard Lehideux, Janelly Fourtou, Thierry Cornillet and Anne Laperrouze.

Damage estimated at 1.4 million

All are suspected of having used European funds to hire parliamentary assistants whom they then made work for the Union for French Democracy (UDF) and then the MoDem between 2009 and 2014. The damage to the European Parliament is estimated at 1 .4 million euros. The MoDem and UDF parties (a party that no longer exists today), are also referred as legal persons.

Franceinfo also learned from a judicial source on Thursday that a dismissal was ordered for Sylvie Goulard. The former Minister of the Armies had been forced to resign – after these revelations – a month after taking office in 2017. Two other cases were also dismissed: for the former MEP MoDem Nathalie Griesbeck and the secretary general of the MoDem , Maud Gatel.