The Court of Cassation on Wednesday confirmed the conviction of Senator Jean-Noël Guérini, former strongman of the Socialist Party in Bouches-du-Rhône, to three years in prison including 18 months suspended and five years of ineligibility for rigging public markets.
Convicted on appeal in March 2022, the senator appealed to the Court of Cassation.
But the highest court of the French judiciary rejected his appeal in almost its entirety on Wednesday, making his conviction final.
The Court of Cassation does not rule on the merits of the cases, but on their legal conformity.
Jean-Noël Guérini, 73, contested the rejections of procedural requests from his lawyers during the investigation.
Read alsoGuérini trial: Alexandre refutes having used the position of his brother Jean-Noël
Condemnation of his brother Alexandre
He also contested his order to pay 2,000 euros in damages to the anti-corruption association Anticor, which had become a civil party, but has since lost its authorization to take legal action, with retroactive effect, by government decision.
The Court of Cassation ruled in favor of him on this point, as well as of others convicted in this case, including his brother, Alexandre.
But the Court underlines in its judgment that
“the other provisions (....) will therefore be maintained”
, and that
“the convictions of MM.
Jean-Noël Guérini (and) Alexandre Guérini (have) become definitive
.
The Aix-en-Provence Court of Appeal, which also sentenced Jean-Noël Guérini to a fine of 30,000 euros, specified that his 18-month prison sentence should be served at his home under an electronic bracelet.
She had not requested provisional execution of the sentence of ineligibility.
Illegal taking of interests
Convicted of
“illegal taking of interests”
, Jean-Noël Guérini was prosecuted for having taken part in the vote on June 2, 2006 of a deliberation of the General Council which he chaired providing for the transfer to the Aubagne urban community, neighboring city of Marseille, of land pre-empted two years earlier by the department for the protection of natural spaces.
This land would in fact make it possible to extend a household waste landfill center which his brother Alexandre had just been entrusted with the operation of.
Alexandre Guérini, for his part, was sentenced to six years in prison for
“breach of trust, passive influence peddling”
and the laundering of a sum of 26 million euros, proceeds from the sale of one of his companies. waste treatment.