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French parliament speaker under investigation in corruption case

Richard Ferrand, president of the French lower house, the National Assembly and who is a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron has been placed under investigation over allegations he benefited improperly from the property deals of a health insurance fund he managed.

La rédaction de Mediapart

This article is freely available.

French National Assembly President Richard Ferrand, a close ally of President Emmanuel Macron, was put under formal investigation on Wednesday in a financial impropriety case, the assembly said, reports FRANCE 24.

In statement on Thursday it said that Ferrand, who denies any wrongdoing, would use the procedure to defend himself and was confident the case would be dropped.

The move, which comes after Ferrand was questioned at length earlier on Wednesday by investigating judges, is likely to be an embarrassment for Macron and could bring renewed scrutiny to his promise to clean up French politics.

Under French law, being put under formal investigation means there is "serious or consistent evidence" that points to probable involvement of a suspect in a crime.

It is a step towards a trial, but many investigations have been dropped without going to court.

A previous investigation by French public prosecutors into Ferrand's financial dealings was dropped in late 2017. Ferrand resigned as a minister during that probe.

As a lawmaker, he now heads Macron's party in the lower house of parliament. The latest probe relates, like the previous one, to Ferrand's management of a health insurance company in Brittany.

Read more of this Reuters report published by FRANCE 24.