“I fear the misuse of certain powers”, reacts Thursday, June 30 on franceinfo Gilles Carrez, former LR deputy for Val-de-Marne and former chairman of the Finance Committee (2012-2017). The deputy Nupes-La France insoumise of Seine-Saint-Denis Éric Coquerel was elected chairman of the Finance Committee of the National Assembly.
Gilles Carrez is “outraged that the deputies of the Macronist majority did not participate in the vote” because they could have voted for the candidate LR Véronique Louwagie. “Once again, Emmanuel Macron plays the extremes”he is indignant.
franceinfo: Does the election to this post of a deputy from rebellious France worry you?
Gilles Carrez: Yes, it worries me because I observed Éric Coquerel during the last legislature. He belonged to the Finance Committee. I had the feeling that it was above all in the ideology. I don’t remember him voting for anything, he was against everything. Then, I especially remember somewhat simple ideas such as: “You just have to make the rich, the big companies pay, the adversary is the company”. However, for me, a good Chairman of the Finance Committee, in addition to competence, must have a sense of the general interest and he must above all have the concern to make this committee work – very important – in a constructive way. Because finance laws are not only voted on, there is also constant evaluation and control of the way in which public money is used. This requires being as objective as possible.
Why is this position strategic? What do you fear the most with Éric Coquerel at its helm today?
I fear the misuse of certain powers. There is one in particular which consists in being able to have all the tax files of individuals or companies communicated to them. As tax officials, you are bound by tax secrecy, you must not tell anyone or disclose anything. So you have to have a great sense of responsibility. All the presidents and general rapporteurs I have known have had this spirit of responsibility. Above all, I don’t want to impugn Éric Coquerel’s intentions, but I have heard some of his statements in the media, implying that he found it completely normal that such and such a tax file be put in the public square. large companies.
The president of the Republicans Christian Jacob, attacked Emmanuel Macron, his parliamentary group which, he says, by refusing to choose for this presidency “is once again making the choice of the extremes”. Is he right ?
He is 100% right. I admit that I was surprised. I am even scandalized that the Macronist majority did not participate in the vote. It is not the custom. The rules of the Assembly say only two things. First, you have to belong to a group. So that excludes non-attached MPs. Second, this group must have declared itself in opposition. We [le parti LR] had a candidate, Véronique Louwagie, and nothing, absolutely nothing, prevented the majority from voting for her.