A French anti-corruption group has called for an inquiry into the campaign accounts of President Emmanuel Macron on Friday, alleging he received illegal discounts during his 2017 presidential bid.
The accounts have been validated by the National Commission of Campaign Accounts (CNCCFP) but several media, including Mediapart, Le Monde and Franceinfo, have published investigations claiming that Macron’s campaign benefited from illegal financing and large discounts from providers.
“The light must be shone on these discounts” says the Fricc, which claims that, Macron’s campaign received discounts of up to 75 percent on purchases from providers even though the maximum limit is between 15 percent and 20 percent, according to an internal document of the CNCCFP.
The organisation will therefore lodge a complaint alleging the “illegal financing of an electoral campaign” with the Paris prosecutor’s office, which oversees political financing.
On the political front, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who is the subject of a judicial investigation for irregularities in his own campaign accounts for the 2017 presidential election, demanded on Friday the “revision of all accounts” in the election. The National Gathering (formerly National Front) has also indicated that it will “support a request for revision of campaign accounts.”
At the beginning of May, when the first discounts received by the Macron campaign from providers were revealed, the Commission stated that they were “acceptable” and did not constitute “illegal participation in the financing” of this campaign.
The allegations of financial favoritism come as Macron’s chief of staff, Alexis Kohler, is accused of influence-peddling and breaching conflict-of-interest rules over his connection to the Swiss-Italian shipping giant MS.
