Marc Papinutti, director of the cabinet until Monday of the Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Béchu, gave up "
for personal reasons
" his candidacy for the presidency of the Transport Regulatory Authority (ART), learned AFP from concordant sources on Tuesday.
President Emmanuel Macron had proposed the candidacy of Marc Papinutti on February 10, to succeed the former socialist deputy from the North Bernard Roman, whose mandate expired at the beginning of August 2022.
Marc Papinutti, 63, was to be heard by the Senate's regional planning committee on Wednesday - then on March 8 by the National Assembly's sustainable development committee - to validate his candidacy.
But the Senate announced on Tuesday morning that its great oral was canceled, without giving a fallback date or explanation.
"
For personal reasons, Marc Papinutti has decided to withdraw his candidacy for these functions
," said a spokesman for the High Assembly.
A decision confirmed in the entourage of the person concerned.
The profile of Marc Papinutti criticized
Formerly Araf then Arafer, ART is an independent authority which, originally created to support the opening up of the rail market to competition, has seen its powers gradually extend to other modes of transport: motorways, interurban transport by coach and airport charges.
It is she who, for example, proposed to the State in January, in a report, to favor shorter contracts for motorway concessions, the main ones of which will expire between 2031 and 2036, in order to give it more margins of maneuver.
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While the previous presidents of the Authority were politicians who showed independence, the profile of Marc Papinutti was criticized, since this engineer has been since the election of Emmanuel Macron director of the cabinet of the current Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne when she held the Transport portfolio (2017-2019), Director of the Central Administration for Infrastructure, Transport and the Sea (DGITM), then Chief of Staff to Christophe Béchu.
"
The need for Marc Papinutti to withdraw from certain files because of his recent career (...) notably raised many questions among parliamentarians supposed to validate his appointment
", and he was not sure of collecting the three fifths of the votes of the parliamentarians of the two committees required, according to the newsletter Context.
Marc Panutti was replaced Monday by Philippe Van de Maele at the head of Christophe Béchu's cabinet, according to two decrees published Tuesday in the Official Journal.