The case that shortened the MoDem's presence in Édouard Philippe's government, resulting in the resignation of three ministers from this movement, takes a new turn. This Wednesday, a judicial investigation for "breach of trust, concealment of breach of trust and scams" was opened against X by the Paris prosecutor's office in the investigation into the suspicions of fictitious jobs weighing on the European parliamentary assistants of the party centrist. The judiciary is asking whether some of the parliamentary staff have been paid by the public funds of the European Parliament when in fact they were assigned to other tasks for the MoDem.

»Read also - Understanding the case of MoDem parliamentary assistants

The judiciary is asking whether some of the parliamentary staff have been paid by the public funds of the European Parliament when in fact they were assigned to other tasks for the MoDem. Magistrates will now be able to summon certain protagonists for possible indictment or placement under the intermediate status of assisted witness.

As a reminder, this file started in March after a report to the justice of Sophie Montelelected by the National Front. TheParis Public Prosecutor's Office opens a preliminary inquiry for "breach of trust" involving a total of about 20 MEPs of all stripes, including two MoDem. In June, the controversy rebounds: a former employee of the centrist party, Matthieu Lamarre, claims to have been partly paid as assistant to the MEP Jean-Luc Bennahmias, while he worked "only for headquarters" in Paris. The prosecution then decided to open a specific inquiry into the MoDem, which sent six elected representatives to the European Parliament between 2009 and 2014.

Other suspicious cases

The case of Matthieu Lamarre might not be isolated. Former MEP Corinne Lepage, who broke with the MoDem, said in a book that she was asked to hire a party official as a collaborator and refused. Several cases are at the heart of investigations, including that of former MEP Marielle de Sarnez. Isabelle Sicart and Karine Aouadj, two of her local parliamentary assistants, held office for the party: the first half-time as head of cabinet of François Bayrou, and the second as private secretary of the latter.

In addition, contracts and pay slips of six party officials, consulted by AFP, show that they were then seconded part-time as employees of MEPs via an amendment to their contract. The practices denounced may be old. "It was proposed in 2004 to Jean-Marie Cavada to hire a permanent as a collaborator, he refused," said Corinne Lepage. According to her, "this system could have continued in 2014".

François Bayrou denies

François Bayrou, who has always denied these accusations, denounced an operation "in order to discredit the person who carried the law" of moralizing public life. "We have never had fictitious jobs," said the former Minister of Justice at the time of his resignation, June 21, denouncing a political maneuver. At the end of June, he admitted that the MoDem, then in a "bad past", had "resettled" some employees in Brussels.

To date, Jean-Luc Bennahmias, Matthieu Lamarre, Isabelle Sicart, Karine Aouadj and Corinne Lepage have already been auditioned at the anti-corruption office of the judicial police (Oclciff). The opening this Wednesday of a judicial information now makes it possible to summon certain protagonists by the investigating judges for possible indictment or placement under the intermediate status of assisted witness.