The French government has justified its increased use of consultancy firms during President Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term, saying it was due to “exceptional circumstances”. EURACTIV France reports.
With only a few days to go before the first round of the presidential election on 10 April, Transformation and Public Service Minister Amélie de Montchalin and Public Accounts Minister Olivier Dussopt held a press conference on Wednesday (30 March) to address the controversy dubbed “McKinseygate”.
A Senate report published on 16 March criticised the “growing influence” of consultancy firms and warned of a “tentacular phenomenon”.
Consultancy spending has “more than doubled” between 2018 and 2021, with the state spending more than €1 billion on them in 2021 alone, the report writes.
Senators also expressed concern about the nature of the services provided by consultancies as they were involved in important social reforms in housing and education. Consultants were paid nearly €500,000 for their take on “the future of the teaching profession”.
Firms also provided advice during the health crisis, including on planning the vaccination campaign.
The trend could lead to a “relationship of dependence”, the senators also warned.
In the government’s defence?
During the Wednesday press conference, the two ministers said that “the rules of public procurement are strictly respected”.
The two also relied on the “exceptional circumstances” of the pandemic to justify the increase, at least in part.
The numbers and recent increase correspond to “0.3% of the total wage bill of the state”, Dussopt said. He added that “decisions are never taken by consultants” and that they “always come back to the State”.
Montchalin said “it is a fantasy” to suggest that consultancies were making decisions on health policy.
Macron fights back against attacks on the use of consulting firms
The use of consulting firms, including US company McKinsey, by the state is causing concern in the electoral campaign of French President Emmanuel Macron.
A recent Senate report revealed that the number of such contracts had “more than doubled” between 2018 …
However, with the election period approaching, opposition parties say they are alarmed by what they call a “state scandal”.
Right-wing candidate Valérie Pécresse of Les Républicains wants Macron to be held “accountable”. According to her, he must “explain the massive recourse of the state to the McKinsey firm”, which according to Senate estimates only represent 1% of the state’s consulting expenses. It was however the most consulted during the health crisis, to the tune of about €12 million.
Macron “has lost his sense of state”, said Communist candidate Fabien Roussel’s campaign manager, Ian Brossat.
Meanwhile, Green candidate Yannick Jadot and far-left candidate Jean-Luc Mélenchon of La France Insoumise have both promised to stop using consultancy firms if elected. According to Mélenchon, these companies give “useless advice”.
The French government has acknowledged the increase in resorting to consultancy firms and suggested that this could be reduced in the future. “If there are abuses, if we consider that these services go too far, that the recourse to consulting firms is excessive, we will refocus these activities,” said Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire.
McKinsey as the main scapegoat
While the increased spending has benefited several consultancies, McKinsey stands out, in part, because of the alleged relationship it has with Macron who is up for re-election. Although the US company did not participate in Macron’s 2017 election campaign, several of its consultants knew him personally and later joined his party and some of the ministerial cabinets following his election.
McKinsey is also facing allegations of tax fraud and avoidance, which would have resulted in it not paying any corporate tax from 2011 to 2020, according to the Senate’s investigative committee, which produced the report.
Although the practice of “transfer pricing” is legal when used without abuse, Le Maire has stated that checks will be made and that the firm “will pay what it owes to the state”.
EXCLUSIVE: Commission’s ballooning bill with consultancy firms revealed
The European Commission spent more than €462 million between 2016 and 2019 in contracts with the ‘Big Four’ consultancy firms, according to estimates made by EURACTIV based on official documents.
[Edited by Benjamin Fox]
Source: euractiv.com
