Since the start of Emmanuel Macron’s first mandate as president of the French republic, it is interesting to note that many members of his government are located at the heart of scandals and affairs. In total, there are 26 members of the government and his entourage that have been involved in such affairs since he took office in 2017, with mixed judicial results. This raises questions as to the appropriateness of Macron’s selection process regarding ministerial posts and fragilizes both his legitimacy and legacy as president.
Here are the names of the following, sorted by the current status of their legal proceedings.
Cases resulting in condemnation:
Jean-Paul Delevoye, High Commissioner for Pensions (September 2017-December 2019), sentenced by the criminal court to four month’s suspended imprisonment and a 15,000 euro fine for “breach of trust” and “misuse of company assets”, having breached article 23 of the constitution prohibiting holding office as a member of the government concurrently with “any professional activity”. Delevoye was also guilty of having “grossly undervalued” his financial assets and interests to the HATVP (High Authority for Transparency in Public Life). He resigned from office when his position became untenable.
Alain Griset, Minister delegate of SMEs (July 2020-December 2021), was convicted in 2021 of having “incompletely or falsely” declared his assets and interests to the HATVP. Griset was sentenced to a six-month suspended prison sentence and a three years' suspended ineligibility period for "breach of trust" and "forgery and use of forgeries". He resigned from office immediately after the condemnation on the 8th of December 2021.
Cases in progress:
Damien Abad, Minister of solidarity, autonomy and disabled people (May-July 2022), accused of rape by three different women for events dating back to 2010,2012 and 2017. Consequently, a preliminary investigation was opened in June 2022 leading to a judicial investigation in 2023 for “rape” and “attempted rape”. He was removed from the government a month and a half after his appointment.
Francois Bayrou, Minister of Justice (May-June 2017) then High Commissioner for Planning (since September 2020), accused of having organized and participated for more than ten years in a system of fictitious employment of parliamentary assistants at the European Parliament aimed at financing his party, the MoDem. The public prosecutor has requested a 30-month suspended prison sentence, together with a €70,000 fine and three years' suspended ineligibility with judgement due on the 5th of February. Bayrou resigned from the government as soon as the preliminary investigation began but remains close to Emmanuel Macron.
Agnès Buzyn, Minister of Health and Solidarity (May 2017-February 2020), under investigation for "endangering the lives of others” following a hearing by magistrates from the Court of Justice of the Republic (CJR), which is investigating the management of the Covid-19 epidemic. The indictment was quashed in January 2023 but the Court of Justice investigation is still ongoing and Buzyn remains classified as an “assisted witness” for “willful failure to combat a disaster”. Removed from the government, she was later appointed as Master Advisor to the Court of Auditors by Emmanuel Macron (in 2022).
Caroline Cayeux, Minister for Relations with Local Authorities (July-November 2022), resigned when it became apparent to the HATVP that the valuation of her heritage and financial assets were “grossly undervalued”, leading to a preliminary investigation.
Rachida Dati, Minister of Culture (since the 11th of January 2024), Rachida Dati is indicted for "passive corruption by a person holding a public elective office within an international organization", "passive trading in influence" and "concealment of abuse of power", due to her receiving the sum of 900 000 euros for services carried out on behalf of Carlos Ghosn, the boss of Renault-Nissan. The final indictment regarding these accusations will be delivered during the first quarter of 2024.
Nathalie Elimas, Secretary of State for Priority Education (July 2020-March 2022), is currently accused of moral harassment by members of her cabinet and is still under investigation. She resigned on the 5th of March 2022 for a different reason: the employment of her partner at the cabinet.
Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, Minister delegate for the territorial organization and healthcare professions (July 2022- July 2023), Minister for Health and Prevention (December 2023-January 2024), accused of being in breach of the “anti-gift” law by having received luxury products worth 20,000 euros from Urgo laboratories during the 2015-2020 period. Le Bodo is awaiting the judgment and risks up to one year of imprisonment as well as 75 000 euro fine, and might incur additional penalties under the order of pharmacists.
Laura Flessel, Minister for Sports (May 2017-September 2018), failed to declare a significant part of her income to the HATVP. She resigned shortly before the announcement of the affair with the HATVP and the result and status of this particular enquiry is currently unknown.
Alexis Kohler, General Secretary of the Élysée Palace (since May 2017), is suspected of conflict of interest, having allegedly hidden his family links with the main shareholders of MSC, the Aponte family, while partaking in governmental level public decisions which have benefited the group. Investigations launched by Anticor (a citizens' association fighting against corruption), led to an indictment (September 2022) whose results are soon to be announced, possibly bringing Kohler before the criminal court.
Muriel Pénicaud, Minister of Labour (May 2017-July 2020), indicted for "complicity in favoritism" in December 2023, having supervised the signing of a contract without a prior call for tenders in 2017. She remained as minister until the 2020 government reshuffle under Jean Castex and went back to work in the private sector.
Marlène Schiappa, Secretary of State with responsibility for equality between women and men (May 2017-July 2020), Minister with responsibility for citizenship (July 2020-May 2022), Secretary of State with responsibility for the social economy and community life (July 2022-July 2023), is currently under inquiry for “misappropriation of funds" and "breach of trust” by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office. This is due to the “Marianne funds” affair, in which unjustified subsidies were awarded to different groups. While there hasn’t been an end to the inquiries covering the affair, Schiappa was not reappointed to a notable post during the July 2023 reshuffle.
Cases terminated without condemnations:
Jean-Michel Blanquer, Minister for Education, Youth and Sport (May 2017-May 2022), had a complaint lodged against him for “influence peddling” by the Union Nationale Lycéenne, as a result of the misuse of a 65 000-euro grant. While the complaint was ruled as inadmissible by the Court of Justice of the French Republic in 2022, three individuals involved in the affair were convicted of “breach of trust” with the state demanding a refund of the grant.
Gérald Darmanin, Minister of Public Action and Accounts (May 2017-July 2020), Minister for the Interior and Overseas Territories (since July 2020), had charges of “rape”, “sexual harassment” and “breach of trust” brought against him by Sophie Patterson-Spatz in 2017 and a complaint for “abuse of weakness” by another unnamed individual. All three complaints from Patterson-Spatz in 2017-2018 were dismissed, along with the subsequent inquiry in 2020 whose dismissal was upheld in January of 2023. The complaint from the other unnamed individual had led to a preliminary investigation which was rapidly shelved a few months later.
Eric Dupond-Moretti, Minister of Justice (since July 2020), was accused of "unlawful conflict of interest” and attempting to settle scores after his appointment as Minister of Justice. The Court of Justice of the Republic found that the Minister was “in an objective situation of a conflict of interest” and that his decisions could be qualified as an “illegal taking of interest” but ultimately ruled that the Minister had no prior knowledge of the situation.
Olivier Dussopt, Minister of Labour (May 2022-January 2024), acquitted from the Paris Criminal Court on the 17th of January 2024 of charges of “favoritism” for having attempted to manipulate a call for tender regarding the management of a municipality’s water supply. The enquiries were closed due to the statute of limitations. This affair, combined with the difficulties encountered by the French government regarding the pension reforms, led to Dussopt not being kept at his post during the most recent government reshuffle under Attal.
Richard Ferrand, Minister of Territorial Cohesion (May-June 2017), had multiple preliminary inquiries opened against him due to multiple accusations of “conflicts of interest”, during his time as both Chairman of Mutuelles de Bretagne and Vice-Chairman of the Conseil Général du Finistère. The discovery of the affair led to the resignation of Mr.Ferrand but he was able to become deputy and later President of the National Assembly from 2018 to 2022. Ferrand remains a close member of Macron’s entourage to this day.
Nicolas Hulot, Minister of Ecological Transition (May 2017-September 2018), accused of sexual violence. Media outlets had first revealed the existence of a rape complaint dating back to 2008, closed without further action due to the statute of limitations. A later report in 2021 gave the testimony of 6 women (including, at the time of the event, a minor) for events ranging from 1989 to 2001. The report led to the opening of a preliminary enquiry based on the testimony of, what was at the time, the minor but was later closed, once again on account of the statute of limitations. Hulot decided to resign not long after and announced his retirement from public life.
Sebastien Lecornu, Minister of the Overseas Territories (July 2020-May 2022), Minister of the Armed Forces (since May 2022), has been the subject of a preliminary investigation by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office for “illegal taking of interest” and “failure to declare to the HATVP” in 2019. This investigation concluded in 2023 with the Prosecutor’s Office declaring that there had indeed been “illegal taking of interest” but lacked sufficient evidence to incriminate him further. A small financial penalty was applied and the case was closed without further action.
Françoise Nyssen, Minister of Culture (May 2017-October 2018), had a preliminary enquiry opened against her due to unauthorized building work but no further action was taken since the construction work was immediately dismantled. The affair seriously weakened her already difficult tenure as minister and led to her resignation.
François de Rugy, Minister of Ecological Transition (September 2018- July 2019), had several issues plaguing his tenure. French media outlets revealed several instances of misuse of public funds, ranging from informal dinners with his wife to the the costly renovations of the Ministry’s private flats. Reports on these events were produced by French governmental entities but did not lead to any judicial pursuits. De Rugy resigned in 2019 and is now working in the private sector.
Marielle de Sarnez, Minister for European Affairs (May-June 2017), was also involved in the aforementioned case alongside Francois Bayrou, immediately resigning at the beginning of the investigation but any enquiry regarding her involvement was put to a halt when her death was announced back in 2021.
Chrysoula Zacharopoulou, Secretary of State to the Minister for Development, Francophonie and International Partnerships (May 2022- January 2024), had three complaints of “rape” brought against her in 2022 for events during her previous work as a gynecologist, resulting in the Parisian Prosecutor’s office to open an investigation. All of the charges were dismissed and the investigation was finally put to an end in 2023. She has not remained as part of Attal’s new government in January 2024.
Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Economy and Finances (since May 2017), had his micro-party under investigation following a report from the Commission nationale des comptes de campagnes et des financements politiques. This was due to certain offenses in 2016 which could be considered as an “illegal financing of a campaign”. The investigation was closed without further action undertaken in December of 2023. Bruno Le Maire was reselected as the Minister of Economy and Finances during the 2024 reshuffle, making him one of the longest standing ministers in this particular domain.
Arman Senocak
