A real war of nerves, the Anticor series seems to have no end. On Wednesday, September 4, the Paris administrative court issued a new ruling in favor of the anti-corruption association. It is trying in vain to regain the government’s approval, the key that allowed it between 2015 and 2023 to become a civil party, especially in the event of inaction by the public prosecutor’s office, in cases of breach of integrity.
In its interim order, the administrative court ordered the resigning Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, to “re-examine the application for approval submitted” in January by Anticor “within twenty-four hours”, “subject to a penalty of 1,000 euros per day of delay after this period has elapsed”. He orders Matignon to take his position and justify his decision.
The same court had already ordered the Prime Minister to do so in an interim order dated August 9. Although he was supposed to resolve this issue within two weeks, Gabriel Attal failed to do so.
Strategy of silence
“The failure of the French government to comply with a court decision is serious and worrying.reacts Paul Cassia, president of Anticor. The Prime Minister was involved in a cascade of illegalities, because he made the mistake of making the approval of Anticor a political issue, while the anti-corruption approval is an administrative and technical procedure, which consists of verifying whether or not the association meets the legal criteria for being approved. »
“The administrative court sanctions the Government’s guilty resistance, adds Vincent Brengarth, a lawyer for Anticor. It is unthinkable that he would rather risk paying a fine than respond to Anticor’s request. This choice is symptomatic of the political unrest surrounding this issue. »
Requested by The worldGabriel Attal’s cabinet has not followed up. Since Anticor lost its approval, following a ruling by the administrative court in June 2023, confirmed in November, the government has adopted a strategy of silence.
In December 2023, as Elisabeth Borne left Matignon, the executive did not respond to the request for approval submitted by Anticor, which amounted to an implicit refusal. He repeated the request in July 2024 with Gabriel Attal.
Empty Chair Strategy
Before the administrative court, the resigned government opted for the empty chair strategy: the resigned Secretary General of the Government (SGG) was absent from the hearing on Wednesday. In a letter sent to the president of the court on Monday, he explained that the “The Prime Minister has taken note of the order issued by the summary judges on 9 August and confirms that the executive naturally intends to comply with this court decision.” “However, given the imminent appointment of a new government, the court is asked not to impose the requested sentence,” he demanded. In vain.
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