For a long time, the post of first secretary of the Socialist Party eluded Jean-Christophe Cambadélis. The blame lies in two convictions – for a job of convenience as a director of hostels for migrant workers in 2000, then for a fictitious job at the Mutual National des Études de France (MNEF) in 2006 –, described as“very old story” by close relatives of the World in 2012, when he tried his luck again. On Wednesday, September 4, the former socialist strategist was, this time, found guilty of the 32my Paris Criminal Court for “misappropriation of fees” for acts committed between 2015 and 2017, when he was a member of parliament for Paris.
The courts have established that between 2015 and 2017 he had spent more than €136,000 of his parliamentary expenses for personal purposes, including more than €30,000 on rent for his house, more than €25,000 on contributions to the Socialist Party, more than €10,000 on pleasure trips – including a trip with his wife to Corsica and a family trip to Prague – and more than €18,000 in damages owed following one of his previous convictions.
However, the damage was reduced to 114,057 euros, as the elected official had personally paid more than 22,000 euros from his personal account to the account dedicated to the expenses of his mandate during this same period.
Five years of ineligibility
“A multitude of long-term operations, (…) with the aim of ensuring one’s own lifestyle”“This is the case,” said financial prosecutor Hedy Djilali during the hearing held at the end of June, specifying that the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) was only interested in expenditure incurred after March 5, 2015, the date on which the rules of use require the tariffs. This is detailed in an “information letter” addressed to the deputies by the President of the National Assembly.
The alert was raised by the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life in 2018. At the end of the audit of the outgoing MPs’ asset declarations, the institution reported to the courts fifteen parliamentarians whom it suspected of embezzling compensation. Cambadelis admitted the facts in June 2022, during a pre-guilty hearing, the French version of the American guilty plea. But the sentence negotiated between the PNF and the former socialist strategist – six months in prison and one year of suspended disqualification – was rejected by the homologation judge, who considered that it did not adapt to the circumstances. “seriousness of the facts (…) committed by an elected official of the Republic”.
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