François Bayrou left the courtroom of the Paris criminal court on Monday relieved.
Relaxed “
with the benefit of the doubt
”, in this affair of the European parliamentary assistants which led him to leave the Ministry of Justice in June 2022, the president of the Democratic Movement (MoDem) said he was “
satisfied
”.
“
The court said (...) that there was no system, no personal enrichment
,” he declared to the press.
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For him, “
it is a nightmare of seven years which has just ended, with an uncontested decision by the court
”.
François Bayrou was suspected of having been the “
main decision-maker
” of a “
fraudulent system
” implemented between 2005 and 2017. “
It is very probable
” that the acts of three of the defendants were committed with “
the authorization of Mr. Bayrou
,” indicated the president of the court, reading the judgment.
But, according to him, “
there is no proof of this authorization
”.
Enough to demonstrate that the “
accusation”
is
“unfounded
”, insists François Bayrou, pointing out a “
terrible
” affair due to
“its consequences”
and a “
human waste
”.
“
Because there are people who died from it
,” he said, with misty eyes, in reference to the dazzling leukemia which took away his “sister in arms” Marielle de Sarnez in January 2021.
Read alsoModem's fictitious parliamentary assistants: François Bayrou acquitted with the benefit of the doubt
Historical ally of Emmanuel Macron, the High Commissioner for Planning, 72, saw two other defendants acquitted like him.
But he had a thought for eight others, including five former MEPs, sentenced to sentences ranging from 10 to 18 months in prison, fines of 10,000 to 50,000 euros and two years of suspended ineligibility.
Former elected officials “
whose integrity I know
”, he underlined, referring to “
an extremely limited number of
disputed cases”.
Out of 150 European parliamentarians' contracts registered "
during this period
", he said, "
10 are - and partially - in question
".
The UDF party was fined 150,000 euros, of which 100,000 was fixed, and its successor MoDem was fined 350,000 euros, of which 300,000 was fixed.
Asked about a possible return to a government, while a second wave of appointments must be revealed, François Bayrou replied: “
we will see”.
“After an event of this magnitude, of this dimension, of this length of time
,” he added, “
it is not politics that is the most important.
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