The French Minister of Economy, Bruno Le Maire, one of the most prominent personalities of the French government, is in the crosshairs of an investigation into possible illicit financing of his electoral campaign in 2016.
The investigation, opened in early June, must determine whether some illicit "donations" were granted to the small party founded by Le Maire in 2016 for the 2017 presidential election, when the current minister did not pass the right-wing primaries. This was revealed today by a source close to the investigation who requested anonymity. "Avec BLM," Le Marie's small list, raised 2 million euros and then struggled to cover debts, according to the news site Mediapart.
The minister said he was "surprised" by the legal proceedings against him, his entourage said.
In 2017, in the presidential elections, Le Maire joined Emmanuel Macron and became his Minister of the Economy, a post he still occupies today and for which he set a record of permanence compared to the French governments of the past.
Le Maire, 54, is according to some observers one of the possible candidates to succeed Emmanuel Macron in 2017.