Before the appointment of his future ministers, Emmanuel Macron can request the High Authority on the Transparency of Public Life (HATVP) to examine the information it has on the people approached to enter the government.
This practice has been included since 2017 in article 8-1 of the law of October 11, 2013. It provides that the president can ask the HATVP whether his future ministers have "
satisfied or not the obligations to transmit a declaration of interests and activities, a declaration of interests or a declaration of financial situation
", or if they find themselves in a "
situation which could constitute a conflict of interest
".
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This insight can induce a change in the ministerial portfolio envisaged, in the event of a problematic link of interest.
If a person entering the government may be in conflict of interest on such or such file, some of his attributions may be delegated to another minister or to the Prime Minister.
Many names can be “tested” and exchanges are done orally, not in writing.
The High Authority has the declarations of interests or assets of nearly 15,000 elected officials and public officials.
It includes in particular past or present professional activities, participation in governing bodies and the profession of the spouse.
Criminal record check
In its 2020 activity report, the High Authority informs that “
this procedure takes place within a constrained time frame, from a few hours to one or two days
”.
It should be noted that before the appointment of his future ministers, the Head of State can also ask the tax administration to find out whether the persons approached meet "
or not the obligations of declaration and payment of taxes
" for which they are liable.
The 2013 law specifies that he can finally request bulletin n°2 of their criminal record, which contains sensitive convictions such as sexual violence against minors.
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Once the government is appointed, the HATVP will carry out a “
thorough check
” of the declarations of assets and interests filed by its members.
“
The college of the High Authority then decides on the exhaustive, exact and sincere nature of the declarations and on the existence of risks of conflicts of interest, their intensity and the means of remedying them, for example by deporting the Minister concerned
", indicates the administrative authority chaired by Didier Migaud.
“
A verification of the tax situation of new members of the government is undertaken in parallel by the tax administration, under the control of the High Authority
”.
Independent control
The laws on transparency in public life were adopted in October 2013, after the scandal of the hidden account abroad of former budget minister Jérôme Cahuzac, who was sentenced for tax evasion in 2018 to four years in prison two of which are suspended, a fine of 300,000 euros and 5 years of ineligibility.
They made it possible to place it under the control of an authority independent of the government, thus guaranteeing its autonomy with regard to political authority.
Prior to this, informal control was the responsibility of the Budget Minister.
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It was this control that led in September 2014 to the resignation of Thomas Thévenoud, who had just been appointed Secretary of State, for not having declared his income, or late.
To prevent this from happening again, François Hollande then Emmanuel Macron ordered checks before the appointments, as in other countries.
Further monitoring is still necessary to uncover certain abuses.
In 2020, this was the case for Alain Griset, then Minister Delegate for SMEs, who had failed to declare a stock savings plan.
He is the last member of the government to have resigned in connection with this type of verification.