He was at the heart of the management of the controversial Marianne Fund. Little known to the general public, the prefect and secretary general of the interministerial committee for the prevention of delinquency and radicalization (CIPDR) Christian Gravel, left office on Tuesday, after accusations pointing to the opaque management of this fund of 2.5 million euros. This departure follows the publication of a harsh report by the General Inspectorate of Administration (IGA) denouncing a "privileged treatment" towards one of the associations benefiting from the famous fund.
A supporter of rigid secularism, Christian Gravel, 49, took his first steps in politics alongside a certain Manuel Valls, at the time spokesman for Lionel Jospin at Matignon during the third cohabitation. Having become one of his trusted men, this graduate of political science and sociology in Nanterre, finally followed the elected to the town hall of Évry (Essonne), where he officiated for nearly ten years, as chief of staff. Security issues will be his main issues.
At the origin of the "Stop Jihadism" campaign
The career of this martial arts enthusiast, seven times champion of France of viet vo dao - a Vietnamese martial art - took a turn in 2012, the year of the election of François Hollande. The socialist offers to follow him to the Élysée: Christian Gravel agrees to manage his communication. A position that will leave some traces. At the top, that of the catastrophic management of the Leonarda affair. The huge media blunder surrounding the expulsion of a Roma immigrant family, including an underage daughter, will not prevent him from continuing his ascent.
Two years later, he became head of the Government Information Service. A mission that forces him to think about how to counter the Islamist discourse that is attracting more and more young French. As the number of departures to Syria and Iraq grows dangerously, his team launches the "Stop Jihadism" campaign. At the time, he chose to focus prevention on the Internet rather than on television or radio. A platform offers "counter-propaganda" documents and videos for people in the process of radicalization and advice for relatives. A toll-free number opens.
"When we see the quality of the tools that are those of the Islamic State, especially on the web, it was more than ever necessary to invest in this field. This war – since it is a war – is also being fought in the field of information. Or disinformation, for that matter, "he had justified to Franceinfo, at the launch of the campaign.
Supporter of an offensive secularism
The following year, his mentor, Manuel Valls, recalled him, and appointed him prefect on the proposal of the Minister of the Interior, Bernard Cazeneuve. Clearly, the title of prefect belongs to him, without attaching him to a specific department. His appointment, despite a less academic career - Christian Gravel did not make the ENA - sounds like "a favor" for the former reserve colonel, observes the press at the time.
Then, the consecration comes in October 2020. Now very identified on the themes of prevention and radical Islam, Christian Gravel takes the head of the interministerial committee for the prevention of delinquency, radicalization and sectarian excesses (CIPDR). A cell that brings together about forty people, including a dozen employees of Miviludes, now absorbed. A timely appointment, at a time when the government wants to make the fight against "separatism" one of its end-of-term markers.
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Under his leadership, the structure is more offensive on issues of secularism and separatism. It intensifies its watch, intervenes on social networks to counter the discourse of associations deemed too complacent with regard to radical Islam. "We want to stifle all underground networks. It is an exciting job, one of the noblest missions. I wish to live up to the trust placed in me by the President of the Republic," he told Le Figaro last year.
A new battle is now announced for this follower of krav-maga and Thai boxing. Implicated in the management of the Marianne Fund, Christian Gravel was heard by the Senate Commission of Inquiry, which had pinned him for not having a document sent relating to the projects selected for the award of grants. Interviewed for more than three hours, the person concerned had specified that the management of this fund stemmed from a "political order" of Marianne Schiappa, then Minister Delegate for Citizenship.