New trial for the close guard of Nicolas Sarkozy. Eleven years after the complaint lodged against X by the Anticor association, the time for explanations has struck for several members of the former president’s cabinet tried for a month, from Monday, October 18, for “concealment”, “favoritism “and” embezzlement of public funds by negligence “before the 32nd chamber of the Paris Criminal Court. Among them, Claude Guéant, already convicted in the case of Beauvau cash bonuses and indicted for “criminal association” in the case of the Libyan financing of the 2007 campaign of Nicolas Sarkozy. Here’s what you need to know about this new trial.
The Elysee had ordered polls without making a call for tenders
It all began in July 2009. In the midst of Sarkozy’s presidency, the Court of Auditors, which in 2008 obtained the right to delve into the finances of the Elysee Palace for the first time, publishes a report which points to several irregularities in the orders of polls carried out by the office of the Head of State, certain opinion polls on subjects such as the pregnancy of Rachida Dati or the possibility of a marriage between Nicolas Sarkozy and Carla Bruni.
According to the wise men of rue Cambon, several agreements for the supply of surveys were signed without respecting the rules of competition. One of these agreements is concluded between the Elysée and two companies of Patrick Buisson, then political advisor to the president. Another contract binds the presidency to a company of Pierre Giacometti, another adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy.
No call for tenders has been launched for these contracts, according to the Court of Auditors, which also judges their amount. “exorbitant”. For example, the contract and its amendments signed with PubliFact cost the Elysée € 2.7 million. Other orders are placed with better-known institutes, such as Ipsos or Ifop, without respecting the rules of public contracts.
Thanks to the revelations of Raymond Avrillier, environmental activist and former elected representative in Rhône-Alpes, who managed to obtain the report, the Anticor association finally lodged a complaint in February 2010.
Nicolas Sarkozy’s close team must be judged
Several members of the team close to the former President of the Republic will have to explain themselves to the judges. Among them, Claude Gueant, 76, is sent to court for “favoritism” and “negligent misappropriation of public funds”. The former interior minister is suspected of having “organized” the signing of contracts with the companies of Patrick Buisson and Pierre Giacometti, but also to have “ordered” and “valid” other polls commissioned directly by a cabinet member from Ipsos, Ifop, OpinionWay and TNS. He faces two years’ imprisonment and a 30,000 euro fine.
Another well-known personality at the helm: Patrick Buisson. Boss of the company Publifact, he is suspected of having embezzled 1.5 million euros in total. According to The Parisian, the former advisor sold to the Elysee “polls ordered by press companies, applying in passing an average margin of 65.74%”. Now 72 years old, he is appearing for “concealment of favoritism” and “embezzlement of public funds”, as well as for “abuse of social property”, because he is also suspected of having charged nearly 180,000 euros in personal expenses to his companies. He faces seven years’ imprisonment and a fine of 375,000 euros.
Pierre Giacometti led Ipsos from 1995 to 2008, year in which he founded his company, GiacomettiPeron, which concluded a contract with the Elysée on March 16, 2008 for a mission of “strategy consulting” and “communication”. The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office estimates that with regard to this contract and its amendments for a total of 2.15 million euros, the Public Procurement Code should have applied. For the offense of concealment of favoritism, Pierre Giacometti, 59, therefore incurs five years’ imprisonment and a fine of 375,000 euros.
Emmanuelle Mignon, director of cabinet of Nicolas Sarkozy for a year, signed the contracts with Publifact, the company of Patrick Buisson, and with GiacomettiPeron. Like Claude Guéant, she is therefore being sued for “favoritism” and “embezzlement of public funds by negligence” and faces two years imprisonment and a fine of 30,000 euros.
Another member of Nicolas Sarkozy’s cabinet is on trial : it is Julien Vaulpre, technical advisor “opinion”, who ordered surveys by email or telephone from polling institutes. A 46 years old he appears for “favoritism” and faces two years in prison and a fine of 30,000 euros.
The institute Ipsos, heavyweight of market research and opinion polls, is also judged for “concealment of favoritism” concerning the polls ordered by Julien Vaulpré, to the tune of 1.5 million euros. Like Publifact and GiacomettiPeron, the companies of Patrick Buisson and Pierre Giacometti, the company risks a maximum of 1.875 million euros in fines.
In their defense, the respondents justified that the Elysée polls constituted “a tradition” which exempted them from applying the rules of public contracts, recalls The world.
The former president finally present
Protected by his criminal immunity during his entire five-year term, the former head of state has never been worried or even heard in this case. “The President of the Republic may not, during his term of office and before any French court or administrative authority, be required to testify or be the subject of an action, an act of information, instruction or pursuit “, according to article 67 of the Constitution. But, twist, the president of the 32nd correctional chamber of the Paris court on October 19 ordered his appearance as a witness, if necessary. “by the police”, estimating his hearing “necessary for the manifestation of the truth”.
Cited as a witness at the trial by the Anticor association, which has always considered that he was the “great absent” of the case, Nicolas Sarkozy had however let it be known that he would not go to court, on the basis of this immunity, according to information from the Parisian and Point. Already summoned during the investigation, he had not come to testify. The former head of state is finally expected in court as a witness on November 2.