Le Figaro Nice
After rain the good weather.
This is the adage that we imagine circulating in the corridors of Nice city hall since two of the executives closest to Mayor Horizons Christian Estrosi were released at the end of their police custody, in connection with accounting anomalies in the settlement of post-storm Alex construction sites.
In October 2020, this meteorological disaster ravaged the valleys of the Nice hinterland and caused the death of ten people.
Major projects were subsequently launched, not without delays and controversies.
The community then sent, in April 2023, a report to the Nice prosecutor for suspicions of embezzlement on the Vésubie road construction sites.
Since then, the Nice public prosecutor's office has transferred responsibility to the Specialized Interregional Jurisdiction (Jirs), dedicated to economic and financial affairs.
And this,
“given the great complexity of the case”
, explained the Nice public prosecutor, Damien Martinelli,
at the start of the week to Le
Figaro .
This is how on Tuesday, at dawn, the general director of city and metropolitan services, Bastien Nespoulous, and Christian Estrosi's chief of staff, Lauriano Azinheirinha, were arrested at their home and placed in custody. on sight as part of a judicial investigation opened on February 20 by the Marseille Jirs of the heads of “favoritism”, “organized gang fraud”, “embezzlement of public funds”, “forgery and use of forgery”, “money laundering organized gang”, “illegal taking of interests”, and “concealment”.
Read alsoTempête Alex: this internal document on the financing of the work which sows trouble around Christian Estrosi
The metropolis will become a civil party
In the fall of 2020, the Nespoulous-Azinheirinha tandem was on the front line in the reconstruction when it came to establishing calls for tenders and public contracts.
The first was the head of the general management of services and the second was none other... than his deputy.
But at the end of their hearings this week, no charges were brought against them.
Martine Ouaknine, deputy mayor of the Riviera, also emerged free from police custody.
Good news which President-Mayor Christian Estrosi echoed to his agents on Wednesday evening, inviting them to
“send them
(those held in custody, Editor’s note)
a message of sympathy”.
This was confirmed by the Marseille prosecutor's office on Friday in a press release.
Ditto for the 18 other entrepreneurs, executives and technicians from the Nice Côte d'Azur metropolis arrested.
All have been released without prosecution at this stage.
A relief as the rumor of an emergency reorganization of services was already circulating within the ranks of the majority with a view to the possible indictment of the DGS and the chief of staff.
“The mayor didn’t consider anything like this!
someone close to me jumped up.
It's a trait he has to never make a hasty decision before being clear on a situation."
“In the last 48 hours, the information disseminated on the basis of sources which certain media have received may have raised questions, where our confidence in the highest hierarchical officials of the metropolis has been total”
, for his part. indicated the lawyer for the metropolis Olivier Baratelli.
And the council to make it known that
“faced with this information which appears to give credence to the report made by the president of the metropolis, on acts which could have had serious consequences on taxpayers' money, the metropolis will become a civil party »
.
The 60 investigators from the Marseille Research Section present on this case nonetheless remain mobilized.
The investigations are continuing
“with a view to determining the responsibilities of the various protagonists involved in the case”,
specifies the prosecution.
And the court announced that as part of the judicial investigation, the gendarmes carried out bank seizures
“for an amount of around 6,500,000 euros and the seizure of several luxury vehicles valued at 640,000 euros.”