“This matter is behind us,” says MoDem deputy Jean-Louis Bourlanges

“This matter is behind us”supports Wednesday February 7 on France Inter the MoDem deputy for Hauts-de-Seine Jean-Louis Bourlanges, while the president of the MoDem François Bayrou was released Monday February 5 inabsence of any proof by the Paris criminal court in the case of European parliamentary assistants. Jean-Louis Bourlanges considers that after this decision, “François Bayrou can fully exercise his duties as political leader”.

The deputy for Hauts-de-Seine regrets that a “political party like the MoDem [ait été] plunged into semi-hibernation for seven years” and the start of the parliamentary assistants affair. “It’s been seven years since the MoDem has had a full status in the majority, and it’s been explained that its leaders cannot become members of the government, simply because there was legal proceedings against them”, deplores Jean-Louis Bourlanges. He explains that François Bayrou “feels very deeply that being under examination barred him from government for seven years”.

A “deeply unjustified” judicial decision

If he says to himself “very happy with the decision” which was taken with regard to François Bayrou, Jean-Louis Bourlanges judge “exaggerated” the decision regarding the other defendants. Indeed, in this case, two other defendants were acquitted and eight were convicted, including five former MEPs. The MoDem and the UDF were also condemned as legal entities.

A decision “deeply unjustified” for Jean-Louis Bourlanges who evokes a “significant difference in interpretation on the role of assistants”. “Does an assistant have to live exclusively in the institution, in this case the European Parliament; or is he the assistant of a parliamentarian who has three centers of interest, namely the institution where he works, the constituency where his voters and his political party are?” asks the MoDem deputy.