Essential for managing the communication of Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s campaigns, untouchable at LFI according to certain members of the movement, Sophia Chikirou is at the center of an investigation for suspicion of fraud concerning the accounts of the 2017 campaign. Internally, the tongues loosen. Some, former employees of their company or members of La France insoumise, spoke to “Complément d’investigation”… under cover of anonymity.
According to the report of experts who analyzed the campaign accounts for the 2017 presidential election of La France insoumise, Sophia Chikirou, president and sole shareholder of Mediascop, would have been remunerated to the tune of 136,000 euros for ten months of campaigning, of which 65,000 paid in the form of dividends.
“We agreed to make sacrifices in terms of standard of living, in terms of health, to realize that in reality we had served to allow Sophia Chikirou to enrich herself.”
A former employee of Mediascopin “Additional investigation”
For this former employee who testifies anonymously in “Additional investigation”, these amounts do not sit well with the speech that would have been given to him and the values that LFI advocates. The head of Mediascop would have told them “that the movement did not have a lot of money to carry out this campaign, that it was necessary [faire] a low-cost campaign, that it was a militant, civic commitment to accept these salaries, fairly low salaries…” (barely more than the minimum wage). “This person has no place in the movement, he judges. In fact, she does not respect the things she says she defends.”
Despite the ongoing investigation into the 2017 campaign accounts, the communicator and her company, renamed the International, remained in charge of the electoral campaigns of Jean-Luc Mélenchon. The latter are not the subject of any investigation.
“It is completely unavoidable and unshakable. Its place cannot be called into question, at least as long as Jean-Luc Mélenchon is at the head of this movement.”
Sylvain Tronchetjournalist at the Radio France investigation unit
Behind the scenes of LFI, his untouchable status seems to have been integrated. No heavyweight of the movement wished to testify for “Additional investigation”. Those who agreed to speak asked to remain completely anonymous.
“In the political group we are in, there is a deference towards her, because Jean-Luc has already eliminated people who were not nice to her. Everyone knows in the ‘orga that not being nice to Sophia causes exclusion!’
“Honestly, if she wasn’t Jean-Luc’s partner, she would have already gotten rid of a lot of things quickly, because she takes the lead on everyone. People call her the queen mother.”
A member of La France insoumiseto “Further investigation”
“She is hated by everyone, confides another member of the movement. People are afraid of her, and since she is terrifying, she spends her time yelling at people. And people don’t say anything, because in fact, there is Jean-Luc behind. They have a completely monarchical relationship.”
Extract from “Sophia Chikirou, the queen of spades by Jean-Luc Mélenchon”, a document to be seen in “Additional investigation” on October 5, 2023.