Nine people were taken into police custody on Tuesday, six of whom were still heard Wednesday morning by investigators, in the investigation of questionable proxies established for the municipal elections in Marseille, we learned from a source close to the case.
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Among these people still in custody on Wednesday morning are Yves Moraine, former LR mayor of the 6th and 8th arrondissements of the city, and Julien Ravier, LR mayor of the 11th and 12th arrondissements, the same source said, confirming initial information from
La Provence.
This investigation into possible "
fraudulent maneuvers
" and "
forgery and use of forgery
" was opened after France 2 and the weekly Marianne had revealed these "
simplified proxies
" proposed in particular by an elected LR as well as by a running mate of Martine Vassal , the Republicans' candidate for the city, in the 4th sector (6th and 8th arrondissements).
It was then extended to suspicion surrounding the vote of residents of an nursing home in the 6th sector (11th and 12th arrondissements), residents sometimes suffering from diseases such as Alzheimer's.
Some fifty proxies had been established in this establishment, without their knowledge according to several families.
Quoted in
La Provence
, Mr. Moraine's lawyer, Erick Campana, declared that his client "
contests (is) any involvement in this case
".
If Julien Ravier was reelected in the 6th sector, Ms. Vassal, president of the metropolis and the department, was beaten in the 4th sector, the stronghold of Jean-Claude Gaudin, LR mayor of the city for 25 years, to whom succeeded in early July the candidate of the union of the left Michèle Rubirola.
A second investigation was opened in early July, on other questionable proxies, this time in the 8th sector won by ex-PS senator Samia Ghali.
Two elected officials close to Ms. Ghali had also been placed in custody and then released without prosecution in this case.