Mediapart does not usually comment on opinion polls. However, one survey that has sparked significant discussion in the past week does deserve closer attention - not for its results, but rather for how those findings have been interpreted. This is because our so-called “elites” refuse to acknowledge what everyone else can sense: that France is a country where corruption thrives amid widespread indifference.
The annual survey, conducted by pollsters Ipsos for the CEVIPOF research centre at Sciences Po university, is entitled 'French Fractures'. It reveals that 63% of 3,000 respondents believe that “most politicians are corrupt”. Meanwhile, 83% say those same elected officials “act primarily in their own personal interests”.
If pollsters and commentators believe in the validity of their studies, they should respect what these polls reveal: and go and confront corruption, analyse it, and examine its causes and consequences. Yet when these figures were presented on France Inter public radio station, Brice Teinturier, deputy managing director of Ipsos, Gilles Finchelstein, director of the left-leaning think tank the Jean Jaurès Foundation, and Anne Muxel, research director at CEVIPOF, spoke about everything except corruption - thus only deepening the very “fracture” they aim to address.
Enlargement : Illustration 1
For though this corruption is very real, and even though the views of the “French people” highlight this, political commentators talk as though they are discussing another subject altogether. It is true that pollster Brice Teinturier did refer to a “gigantic explosion” when commenting on these figures. However, he attributed the poll results to three causes: the fallout from the “damaging effects of the dissolution [editor's note, of the National Assembly in June], which was never understood”, the “collapse of the president's economic record” and “divisions [sic] within the National Assembly”. Later in the interview, the pollster also mentioned the “global context”, a “sense of vulnerability over globalisation” and fears over the country's “decline”.
But corruption itself? It disappeared from the radar. Yet it is everywhere, right before our eyes. Indeed, to see this you only need to list the cases that have dominated the news over the past three weeks, which is precisely what Mediapart has done in the list below.
November 12th: François Fillon finally ready to pay up
Six months after his final conviction for embezzling public funds (his appeal was dismissed in April), former prime minister François Fillon is finally prepared to “return the money”. The one-time favourite for the 2017 presidential election, whose campaign was derailed by what his supporters (including the outgoing interior minister Bruno Retailleau) still dare to call a witch hunt, has submitted a draft agreement proposing the repayment of 689,989.32 euros to the National Assembly, spread over the next ten years, according to BFMTV news channel. Conveniently this proposal comes just before court deliberations about what sentence he should receive over his conviction.
November 13th: Financial prosecutors call for minister Rachida Dati to stand trial
The prospect of a trial is looming for the current minister of culture. This news surprises no one, least of all Emmanuel Macron, who appointed Rachida Dati to the government in January 2024 in an effort to broaden his majority, despite the fact that the conservative politician – who is also mayor of Paris’s 7th arrondissement - was already under formal investigation for passive corruption and influence peddling. Prosecutors believe Rachida Dati was paid 900,000 euros by Renault to defend the car manufacturer’s interests in the European Parliament.
November 14th: Police raids in Nice and Montpellier
Chance scheduling saw police officers carry out searches at the town halls of France’s fifth and seventh largest cities at the same time. In Nice, prosecutors are investigating alleged conflicts of interest relating to the Nice Climate Summit, an event co-organised by the city and the metropolitan authority, both of which are headed by Christian Estrosi, and La Tribune, a publication to which Estrosi’s wife, Laura Tenoudji, has been an independent contributor since 2020.
In Montpellier, detectives were looking for documents concerning the employment of no fewer than 300 municipal workers who were reportedly paid without being given assigned roles or duties from 2015 to 2021, according to the regional financial watchdog. Investigators are also scrutinising the circumstances in which socialist mayor Michaël Delafosse’s chief of staff was hired, reports France 3 television.
November 15th: Former socialist minister convicted
Since leaving government in 2017, Thierry Mandon has held several positions, culminating in his appointment as head of the trade body the Conseil National du Commerce in 2022. He will no longer be able to hold such roles, however, after a court in Saint-Étienne issued a permanent ban on him presiding over or running any public body. The ban takes immediate effect, regardless of any appeal he may lodge.
The former junior minister for state reform and then higher education was found guilty of fraud, attempted embezzlement of public funds, forgery and misuse of public property. While heading the Saint-Étienne Cité du Design research, education, communication and media institution between 2018 and 2022, he funded personal expenditure at public expense to the tune of 22,000 euros.
November 16th: National Assembly ethics watchdog alerted to Andy Kerbrat case
An MP misusing public money to fund his drug habit: revelations by Mediapart about Andy Kerbrat, who represents the Loire-Atlantique département or county for the radical-left La France Insoumise (LFI), prompted National Assembly president Yaël Braun-Pivet to call in the parliamentary ethics body. Confronted with the accusations, the MP admitted he had “done all sorts of stuff” with public money and, in a lengthy interview with Mediapart, explained the “mess” he had “trapped himself in”, before eventually paying back the money.
November 18th: Macron-supporting MP Karl Olive convicted
A key supporter of Emmanuel Macron, MP Karl Olive has been handed an eight-month suspended jail term for illegal conflict of interest by a court in Versailles. While serving as mayor of Poissy, west of Paris, he was involved in the recruitment of the son of a former deputy director general of municipal services “in circumstances based on arrangements that bypassed public service hiring regulations”.
The former mayor also granted the father “staff accommodation” at below market rent. During the trial, the public prosecutor described Olive’s actions as a “form of nepotism”. Despite his conviction, Olive, a vocal advocate of “zero tolerance” on criminal issues, has appealed against the ruling and has shown no intention of stepping down from his current role.
November 19th: Centrist MP Max Mathiasin convicted
Next in the spotlight is Max Mathiasin. The centrist MP for the overseas département of Guadeloupe, who has served in the National Assembly since 2017, was found guilty of a breach of trust and embezzlement. The charges stem from financial misconduct at the Pointe-à-Pitre school fund, an organisation which runs school meal services, where Mathiasin held a leadership role before his election as an MP.
He has been sentenced to a twelve-month suspended jail term and fined 5,000 euros. However, he escaped a ban from holding public office that prosecutors had been seeking. Like Olive, Mathiasin has not stepped down as an MP.
November 20th: Financial Inspectorate association probed
It is rare for the Director-General of Public Finances to make media statements, but on this occasion, Amélie Verdier confirmed to press agency AFP that the association representing members of the Inspection Générale des Finances – which audits and oversees financial aspects of public administration - is under investigation for alleged embezzlement that pre-dates her tenure, as revealed by Mediapart. Over a period spanning a decade, nearly 1 million euros is believed to have vanished from bank accounts at this association for senior civil servants.
November 21st: Police searches linked to MP Éric Ciotti’s 2022 election campaign
Back in Nice, the focus shifted from Christian Estrosi to his great political rival, rightwinger Éric Ciotti. Nice-Matin newspaper reports that the previous day police raided the offices of the port authority as part of an investigation into the 2022 parliamentary elections. The inquiry was triggered by a complaint from the anti-corruption association Anticor, alleging the free use of parking passes near Ciotti’s constituency office near the port during his election campaign.
In May 2024, a separate investigation was launched following a report by the regional financial watchdog into allegedly illegal job overlap issues within the Alpes-Maritimes département, which is the political stronghold of the former president of the conservative Les Républicains.
November 22nd: Sarkozy's inner circle continues to fall apart
Judicial investigations surrounding former President Nicolas Sarkozy and his inner circle continue to cause shockwaves. This time, the focus is on his wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy, as Mediapart has reported. Summoned by judges in the so-called 'Save Sarko' case, which is linked to the separate Libyan financing scandal, Bruni-Sarkozy felt obliged to harshly criticise her long-time confidante, public relations specialist Mimi Marchand, a friend of more than thirty years.
November 23rd: Former mayor on the run
From the Var region of southern France to Georgia; the former conservative UMP mayor of Roquebrune-sur-Argens, Luc Jousse, remains on the run. Jousse has been a fugitive since his latest conviction for illegal conflict of interest, handed down by the judicial court in Draguignan on October 8th. Over the past eight years, the local politician, who had gradually aligned himself with the National Front, has amassed seven criminal convictions, including for embezzling public funds and incitement to racial hatred.
November 24th: veteran centrist François Bayrou defends Marine Le Pen
Once a staunch advocate of an “exemplary Republic”, François Bayrou has taken a new tack. Speaking on BFMTV news channel the former justice minister and veteran centrist came to the defence of far-right politician Marine Le Pen in the court case involving parliamentary assistants and the alleged misappropriation of European Parliament funds by her party Rassemblement National (formerly Front National). “People talk about the embezzlement of public funds, and when they hear that, everyone thinks of public projects - this isn't true. The funds in question are not public project funds,” he said, adding that he “does not like injustice, even when it concerns my opponents”. Bayrou also reminded viewers of his acquittal in the parliamentary assistants case that involved his own centrist party MoDem (the prosecutor has appealed) but neglected to mention that the party, its treasurers and former MEPs were convicted.
November 25th: Two mayors dismissed in Seine-et-Marne, major trial in Paris
Pierre Ory, prefect for the Seine-et-Marne département south-east of Paris, issued orders for the dismissal of two local right-wing mayors, Jean-François Oneto of Ozoir-la-Ferrière and Sinclair Vouriot of Saint-Thibault-des-Vignes. Both were convicted on October 24th by a court in Paris in the “France Pierre” corruption case involving former prefect Alain Gardère who was in post during Nicolas Sarkozy's presidency.
Meanwhile, a trial began in Paris involving two former heads of the state-owned financial institution the Caisse des Dépôts, Augustin de Romanet and former junior minister Jean-Pierre Jouyet, on charges of favouritism and embezzlement of public funds. Another defendant in the case is well-known criminologist Alain Bauer.
November 26th: Investigation into top Élysée official Alexis Kohler advances; police searches in Brittany
After months of uncertainty, the case involving Emmanuel Macron’s chief of staff took a significant step forward. The Paris Court of Appeal rejected the statute of limitations argument raised by Alexis Kohler, Secretary-General of the Élysée, who is under investigation for illegal conflict of interest related to his family ties with the shipping company MSC.
At the same time, searches were carried out at the Lorient Keroman fishing port at Lorient in Brittany as part of an investigation by the financial crime prosecution unit, the Parquet National Financier (PNF), into allegations of illegal conflict of interest and embezzlement of public funds, according to Le Télégramme newspaper. The investigation targets Lorient Keroman’s mixed public and private company, of which Lorient Agglomération - chaired by the minister for the sea and fisheries, Fabrice Loher - is the majority shareholder.
November 27th: RN trial ends; investigation launched against conservative politician Jean-François Copé
The trial in the far-right Rassemblement National's (RN) parliamentary assistants case (see above) concluded with the defence’s closing arguments. Two weeks earlier, the prosecution had called for an immediate ban on holding public office against Marine Le Pen, whom it described as being at the head of a scheme that misappropriated over 4 million euros of public money.
Meanwhile, Le Monde revealed that Jean-François Copé, another former leader of the conservative Les Républicains, is the subject of a preliminary investigation into his use of chauffeurs while serving as mayor of Meaux, north-east of Paris. An audit by the regional financial watchdog found that between 2018 and 2021, the town of Meaux spent an average of 126,315 euros per year on Copé’s two drivers, as well as fuel and vehicle maintenance, without any formal council resolutions having been passed or monitoring mechanisms put in place.
November 28th: Ex-spy chief Squarcini on trial, former MP Pupponi convicted on appeal, scandal in Bobigny
The Paris prosecutor’s office has called for a four-year suspended prison sentence and a fine of 300,000 euros against the former head of France's internal intelligence service Bernard Squarcini. He is accused of involvement in the surveillance of journalist (and now MP) François Ruffin’s newspaper Fakir. The prosecutor is also seeking a five-year ban on him taking part in activities linked to intelligence, surveillance, economic consultancy or the public sector.
On the same day, the Versailles Court of Appeal upheld the conviction of former MP François Pupponi (formerly of the Socialist Party and later MoDem) from the Val-d’Oise département in northern France for misuse of corporate assets.
Meanwhile, in the Paris region, the former president and a director of the Bobigny social housing organisation north-east of the capital have been placed under formal investigation over their management practices during the period when the authority was under the control of the centre-right.
November 29th: Far-right MP Christine Engrand under investigation
Two months after Mediapart exposed irregularities in her expenses, the first hearings have begun. Christine Engrand, MP for Rassemblement National, is under investigation by the Boulogne-sur-Mer prosecutor’s office in northern France for alleged embezzlement of public funds. She is accused of using money from the National Assembly for personal expenses unrelated to her parliamentary duties, such as dog-sitting, a dating website and her mother’s funeral. The Pas-de-Calais département MP claims to have reimbursed everything, which the judiciary is now set to verify.
December 2nd: Justice minister's warning
Opening a conference on 'corruption and organised crime', an event organised by the French anti-corruption agency the Agence Française Anticorruption and the juridical training college the École Nationale de la Magistrature, minister of justice Didier Migaud issued a stark warning. “Corruption is still too rarely used in indictments and proceedings in drug cases due to challenges in evidence gathering and the effectiveness of penal responses,” lamented the minister, who presided over the body in charge of openness in public life, the Haute Autorité pour la Transparence de la Vie Publique (HATVP), before joining the government.
December 3rd: Somme département president convicted
Awarded the Légion d'Honneur in 2023, convicted a year later: Stéphane Haussoulier, president of the Somme département in northern France and a former member of Les Républicains, has fallen far. He was found guilty of embezzling public funds, fraud, breach of trust and money laundering. Haussoulier used his various roles to claim reimbursements - sometimes three times over - for his expenses, which included lavish spending on alcohol, fine dining and a strip club. Despite widespread calls for his resignation, he has decided to appeal and is clinging on to his position.
December 4th: Call for Hautes-Alpes departmental president to be jailed
Jean-Marie Bernard, who has headed the Hautes-Alpes département in south-east France since 2015, is on trial for favouritism, illegal conflict of interest and embezzlement of public funds. The Lyon prosecutor’s office has called for a fifteen-month suspended prison sentence, a 10,000-euro fine, and a three-year ban from public office. The case involves allegations of misconduct in public procurement contracts, as well as questionable expenses such as golf equipment, hotel stays, and the use of a fuel card for his personal vehicle. According to France 3 television, it was the regional financial watchdog which initially flagged these expenses. Speaking to BFMTV, Bernard’s lawyer characterised the incidents as “errors” and “negligence”, adding: “Everyone who knows him understands he's a good man, anything but dishonest.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- The original French version of this article can be found here.
English version by Michael Streeter