France: Presidential candidate Édouard Philippe named an “assisted witness”
The Le Havre investigation concerns suspected embezzlement of public funds and favouritism. The status weighs less than a charge – his lawyer speaks of a favourable decision.
Archive image · Photo: Ksiamon / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Former French prime minister and Le Havre mayor Édouard Philippe, the Horizons party's presidential candidate, was questioned on Thursday by two financial investigating judges. He was given the status of “assisted witness” (témoin assisté) in an investigation into suspected embezzlement of public funds, favouritism and workplace harassment at the Le Havre urban community, which he chairs.
The status can still change but is less serious than a formal charge. The case stems from a complaint by a former employee to the national financial prosecutor's office. It concerns the running of the “Cité numérique” by the association LH French Tech and suspicions that procurement rules were circumvented.
Philippe's lawyer Emmanuel Marsigny told the AFP news agency that the politician welcomes “this favourable decision”, which confirms there is “nothing to reproach him for” in the case. The presumption of innocence applies to everyone involved.