The former mayor of Marseille, tried on Tuesday for “negligent embezzlement of public funds” in the overtime case at the city hall, had decided to plead guilty.
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He admitted his guilt. The former mayor of Marseille between 1995 and 2020, Jean-Claude Gaudin, was given a six-month suspended prison sentence on Tuesday March 22. for “misappropriation of public funds by negligence”, after having delayed putting an end to a generalized system of overtime unduly granted to municipal agents, without effective work.
The former elected official, tried from 2 p.m. Tuesday in Paris, had decided to plead guilty, France Bleu Provence had learned on Monday from the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF). He was prosecuted with his chief of staff, four other former administration officials and the former director of Samu social. The investigation by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office began in 2017, after an initial investigation by the Marseille prosecutor’s office.
Whereas Jean Claude Gaudin was at the head of the Marseille city, some 800 agents were paid for overtime that they did not perform, and justice suspected the former elected official of having been negligent in respecting the law. The latter initially denied the facts, before choosing to plead guilty.
This admission of guilt allows him, despite a conviction, to avoid the sentence of one year in prison and a 15,000 euro fine that he incurred. It also allows Jean-Claude Gaudin to avoid a two-week hearing during which his management would have been publicly displayed.