French minister ‘politically responsible’ for €2 million public funds mismanagement

Former Minister Marlène Schiappa – now secretary of state for the Social and Solidarity Economy – and her cabinet have ‘political responsibility’ in the mismanagement of a public fund aimed at fighting radicalism and separatism, according to the findings of a report published by the French Senate’s enquiry committee on Thursday.

The Marianne Fund was launched with a budget of just over €2 million in 2021 after a teacher – known for showing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed from the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo to his pupils as part of a freedom of expression – was beheaded by an Islamist terrorist.

Following the incident, the government launched a “republican counter-discourse” campaign to combat radicalisation and separatist rhetoric.

Schiappa, then minister for citizenship and very committed to these issues, launched the Marianne Fund to finance projects by associations and thus include civil society in this response. A total of 17 associations were selected to take part.

In March, a journalistic investigation pointed to irregularities in the allocation of subsidies, prompting a Senate committee of enquiry to be set up.

‘Opaque and ‘amateurish’ management

After numerous hearings, the senators on the committee concluded that a number of errors had been made by the political and administrative leaders involved.

The committee pointed to a set of specifications for participants “drawn up in a hurry”, a selection timetable deliberately speeded up by the then minister’s office and the absence of a “qualified outside figure”.

As a result, the selection process was judged to be “slapdash, opaque and fragmented” and indicative of a form of “amateurism”.

“The minister’s office and the minister herself overstepped their role” by supporting one candidate and excluding another.

‘Serious work’ by most beneficiaries

As for the monitoring of implementation by the fund’s beneficiaries, the Senate report noted that “most of the projects have been completed”.

While their actual impact cannot be measured precisely, “several [of the selected players] have carried out serious and indisputable work”, the committee added.

However, concerns were raised about two associations among the 17 beneficiaries.

The first received the largest sum (€355,000), and its results are “insignificant in relation to the grant” and “not in line with the project presented”, according to the Senate.

The second one is considered to be “a casting error”. Although it had produced a great deal of content for distribution across social media and had “professional-level” technical skills, “compliance […] with the objectives of the Marianne Fund poses real difficulties”.

Far from a counter-discourse against separatism and radicalisation, content targeting political figures of all stripes was produced. This is “unacceptable” given that public money is involved and did not correspond to the objectives set by the fund, the senators added.

A ‘political’ responsibility

The commissioners questioned the “very weak” control and monitoring of the first association’s projects and even the “inadequate” monitoring of the second.

The report, therefore, concludes that there is a “lack of steering” and that the political authorities, i.e. the minister or her office, play too large a role, both because of their active role in the selection process and because of the weakness of the fund’s monitoring. The choices made at the ministerial level were thus viewed as the main causes of the fund’s “failures”, and as such, the minister bears “political responsibility” for them.

In May, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office opened a judicial investigation to establish the existence of several alleged offences, including “misappropriation of public funds through negligence” in the management of the fund’s operating procedures.

Opposition politicians have called for Schiappa to resign.

It is uncertain whether she will remain in government in the event of a reshuffle, even though she is not criminally implicated. In recent months, several sources attached to Macron’s Renaissance party have told EURACTIV that they would not be opposed to the minister leaving but that this was not necessarily linked to the management of the Marianne Fund.

(Davide Basso | EURACTIV.fr)