Bad news is piling up for Michel Vialay.
Eliminated in the first round of the legislative elections, the outgoing deputy of the 8th district of Yvelines is now under payment of more than 50,000 euros.
He received a letter from the mayor of Mantes-la-Jolie Raphaël Cognet (DVD) asking him to reimburse his representation costs.
The sum amounts very precisely to 51,678.79 euros.
These are costs paid between 2014 and 2017 by the city of Mantes-la-Jolie when Michel Vialay was the mayor.
These expenses had intrigued the judges of the Regional Chamber of Accounts.
In a vitriolic report from July 2020, the magistrates had been surprised by certain invoices issued by the former mayor: restaurant bills at 1,000 euros monthly, a Hermès scarf for 490 euros, Hermès gifts for 847 euros in November 2015 , a meal at 300 euros made up of lobsters a restaurant in Dakar (Senegal)…
Made public in October 2020, the report had been harshly commented on and had tarnished the end of Michel Vialay's mandate.
He was even heard last March by the judicial police as part of a free hearing.
Expenses made without the approval of the municipal council
The interested party, who did not respond to our request for an interview, always defended himself by arguing that these expenses were strictly professional in nature.
“By inviting three, four or five people per week to the restaurant, for two weekly lunches, the bill quickly climbs to 250 euros per week.
The approximately 10,000 euros per year are therefore not extravagant.
When you have to get grants, aid for a project, the discussions often take place over a meal, ”he explained in our columns after his hearing.
He had, moreover, sent to the court a report on other expenses, carried out, according to him, in a "managerial framework and team building (sic)".
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Beyond the moral questions raised by the importance of these sums, Raphaël Cognet insists, in his letter, on the "irregularity of the reimbursements that the city (him) granted".
Because for the Court of Auditors, these expenses had been made in the absence of deliberation in the municipal council.
Clearly, without the elected officials of the city authorizing it.
The judges had in particular deplored "the absence of deliberation, credits and irregular accounting allocation".
It is on this point that the current mayor – neither he nor his entourage wished to comment – relies to claim reimbursement.
A reminder that suggests possible legal consequences if Michel Vialay does not follow up on the letter from his successor.
