“Further investigation”. Alexis Kohler, the President’s shadow man

He is the most powerful stranger in the Republic. Most French people do not know his face, he is not elected and yet this enarque plays a certain role in the political decisions that impact their daily lives. Alexis Kohler, 50, has been the very discreet but very influential secretary general of the Elysée since 2017, the man who whispers in the ear of the President. To the question “Who really counts in the eyes of the President of the Republic?”, a close friend of Emmanuel Macron answers without hesitation: “There are only two people: Alexis Kohler and Brigitte Macron.” The tone is set.

He would have pushed for retirement at 65, pleaded for the maintenance of the carbon tax in the midst of the crisis of “yellow vests”, and places above all the control of public spending… From arbitration to major speeches to appointments in the ministerial cabinets, everything would go through the double of the President. Jealous for his closeness to Emmanuel Macron, Alexis Kohler annoys as much as he scares, few are those who dare to criticize him openly.

An indictment

A brilliant senior civil servant with a long smooth career, his name is associated with two cases that shook the Elysée. Accused of not having told the whole truth by the senatorial commission of inquiry into the Benalla scandal, his file was closed without further action… before he was caught up by justice in another sensitive file. Despite a letter from Emmanuel Macron himself claiming that Alexis Kohler had informed him, when he was in Bercy, of his family ties with the powerful shipowner MSC, the judges ended up indicting him for illegal taking of interests. With the help of numerous testimonies and unpublished documents, we will investigate the career of the President’s protege.

Revelations behind the scenes of power, at the heart of the pair that has presided over the fate of France for nearly six years.

An investigation by Thomas Lelong, Swanny Thiébaut and Pierre-Louis Devais.

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