Emmanuel Macron’s government and other public bodies have signed contracts worth at least €2.4 billion with consultancy firms since 2018, for work on issues ranging from the coronavirus vaccine rollout to digital transformation, according to a new report from the French Senate, reports Politico.
Lawmakers from France’s top chamber presented their findings this month after a four-month parliamentary inquiry that looked into lucrative contracts with McKinsey, Accenture, BCG and the like.
Ministries’ consulting expenses have more than doubled since the beginning of Macron’s tenure as French president, with a sharp acceleration in 2021 (up 45 percent on the previous year) due to the pandemic, according to the report from the inquiry committee — made up of a group of senators and led by the opposition.
The senators also accused McKinsey of lying about its tax situation during parliamentary hearings and said they filed a complaint to the prosecutor's office. Despite landing lucrative deals with the French government over the years, McKinsey "has not paid corporate tax in France for at least 10 years," said Senator Éliane Assassi during a press conference. "One of [McKinsey's] directors said under oath ... that McKinsey paid taxes in France, so we checked by [requesting data] from the Finance ministry. The finding is clear."
The committee’s findings, based on data obtained from the government’s budget department, showed “an explosion” of consulting services’ uptake by the public sector. Consultancy use has become “a reflex” and consulting firms have been “involved in most of the major reforms” in France such as the pension reform scheme, the housing benefits reform and several aspects of the recovery plan, the 350-page report reads.