Investigations

A minor in the Kawéni shanty town in Mayotte, November 2022. © Photo David Lemor / Abaca

Mediapart can reveal details of a report compiled by six French ministries about the tragic situation faced by France's Indian Ocean archipelago. Covering issues such as health, housing, law and order, education and the legal system, the report's contents are devastating for the French state. Drawn up in January 2022, the document shows that the security-focused approach of interior minister Gérald Darmanin cannot, on its own, solve Mayotte's many problems. Fabrice Arfi and Nejma Brahim report.

© Illustration Justine Vernier / Mediapart

With the help of leaked documents and witness accounts, Mediapart reveals the inside story on the United Arab Emirates' strategy to influence opinion in France, an operation involving private intelligence gathering and the manipulation of information . The story features an Emirati intelligence agent, a private intelligence agency in Switzerland, academics and two well-known French journalists. Another name that also crops up is that of President Emmanuel Macron's former bodyguard Alexandre Benalla. Yann Philippin and Antton Rouget investigate.

The still unidentified little girl was found on December 24th on a beach on Tunisia’s Kerkennah Islands. © Photo Boulbeba Bougacha

The washed-up corpse of an infant girl (photo) was found on December 24th on a beach in Tunisia’s Kerkennah Islands, in almost identical circumstances as that of three-year-old Alan Kurdi, found on a beach in Turkey in 2015. Both drowned during an attempted crossing of the Mediterranean Sea. But while the shocking photo of the little boy’s body made headlines around the world, that of the unidentified little girl has prompted no such interest, nor any political reaction, highlighting a creeping indifference towards such tragedies. Nejma Brahim reports from Tunisia, where she spoke with those who routinely face the horrors of the Mediterranean ‘graveyard’.

Labour minister Olivier Dussopt setting out the pension reforms on January 23rd 2023. © Photo Xose Bouzas / Hans Lucas via AFP

France's labour minister Olivier Dussopt, the politician in the front line over the explosive issue of pension reform, could face a criminal trial over his dealings with a major French water firm, Mediapart can reveal. The minister has just received a damning report from the financial crimes prosecution unit, the Parquet National Financier (PNF), which suspects him of 'favouritism' in relation to the SAUR group. The news that the minister could stand trial comes at the worst possible time for the government which is facing huge protests over its controversial pension reforms. Fabrice Arfi, Antton Rouget, Ellen Salvi and Marine Turchi report.

Claude Berri , top left, François de Ricqlès, bottom left, a Giacometti bust, centre, and the Ministry of Finance top right. © Montage Simon Toupet/Mediapart

The judicial authorities are investigating what could turn out to be one of the biggest cases yet seen in France involving the hiding of artworks from a deceased person's estate to reduce inheritance tax. The case, which follows the death more than a decade ago of the great French film-maker Claude Berri, shows glaring weaknesses in the French system when it comes to scrutinising this area of taxation. Now a Member of Parliament is calling for a national register to be set up to record who owns works of art in the country – a system similar to what currently exists with car ownership. Fabrice Arfi reports.

Muammar Gaddafi, Nicolas Sarkozy, Thierry Gaubert, Brice Hortefeux, Éric Woerth, Claude Guéant, Ziad Takieddine. © Photo illustration Sébastien Calvet / Mediapart avec AFP

Mediapart can reveal the latest developments that allowed judges to wrap up the Sarkozy-Libyan funding affair probe after nine long years of investigation. Those who are under investigation in the case, including former president Nicolas Sarkozy, now face the possibility of being sent to trial at a criminal court in Paris. Fabrice Arfi and Karl Laske report.

Chairman and chief executive officer of Dassault Aviation, Éric Tappier, in 2015. © Boris Horvat / AFP

France's anti-corruption watchdog wrote a damning report after a lengthy inspection of French defence and aviation company Dassault. The report from the Agence Française Anticorruption highlighted five breaches of the law and signs of possible corruption in the firm's dealings in India, where it sold 36 Rafale fighter jets for 7.8 billion euros. Yet as Yann Philippin reports, the agency did not propose any punishment and nor did it alert French prosecutors to its findings.

© Photo illustration Sébastien Calvet / Mediapart

Former French president Nicolas Sarkozy received 300,000 euros during a period in which he attended a 2018 gathering in Moscow that was organised by the Russian state's main sovereign wealth fund, and at which he praised his “friend” Vladimir Putin. The money was paid by a company which bears the same name as a subsidiary of that sovereign fund. Fabrice Arfi and Yann Philippin report.

© Document Mediapart

A group of 15 French cryptocurrency investors have filed a legal complaint against Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, which they accuse of marketing its services in France before it received official approval to do so, of using misleading commercial practices and receiving the proceeds of fraud. The complaint by the group, who claim losses of close to 2.4 million euros in transactions via the platform, is the first of its kind in France involving the highly speculative and volatile sector of digital assets. Laurent Mauduit reports.

Hannibal Gaddafi and Nicolas Sarkozy. © Photo illustration Sébastien Calvet / Mediapart

A Libyan diplomat with links to the French secret services has been placed under investigation for the “corruption of foreign judicial personnel”. He has admitted acting as a middleman to try to obtain the release of one of the late dictator Muammar Gaddafi's sons from a Beirut jail in order to serve the interests of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy. Fabrice Arfi, Karl Laske and Antton Rouget report.