Corruption Scandals In The Paris Region
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In the 1980s and 1990s there were, in the
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
region (
ÃŽle-de-France The ÃŽle-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...
), multiple instances of alleged and proved
political corruption Political corruption is the use of powers by government officials or their network contacts for illegitimate private gain. Forms of corruption vary but can include bribery, lobbying, extortion, cronyism, nepotism, parochialism, patronage, influen ...
cases, as well as cases of abuse of public money and resources. Almost all involved were members of the
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
Rally for the Republic The Rally for the Republic ( ; RPR ) was a Gaullist and conservative political party in France. Originating from the Union of Democrats for the Republic (UDR), it was founded by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and presented itself as the heir of Gaul ...
(RPR) ruling party, which became the
Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement ( ; UMP ) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in France, political party in France, largely inspired by the Gaullism, Gaullist tradition. During its existence, the UMP was o ...
(UMP) in 2002.


Central role of Jacques Chirac

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...
was mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995 and has been named in several cases of alleged corruption and abuse, some of which have already led to felony convictions. Chirac, as
president of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the po ...
(until 16 May 2007), enjoyed virtual immunity from prosecution for acts preceding his tenure as president, following from decision 98-408 DC of the Constitutional Council on 22 January 1999. This decision itself was highly controversial: the council was consulted on the treaty establishing the
International Criminal Court The International Criminal Court (ICC) is an intergovernmental organization and International court, international tribunal seated in The Hague, Netherlands. It is the first and only permanent international court with jurisdiction to prosecute ...
, not about the status of the president with respect to the national criminal justice system. At the time, the president of the council was Roland Dumas, who later had to retire from his functions because of his implication in the
Elf Aquitaine Elf Aquitaine is a French brand of oils and other motor products (such as brake fluids) for automobiles and trucks. Elf is a former petroleum company which merged with TotalFina to form "TotalFinaElf". The new company changed its name to Total ...
scandal. Chirac refused to testify before investigating magistrate
Éric Halphen Éric Halphen (born 10 October 1959) is a French judge best known as the investigating magistrate in the Parisian low-cost housing scandals of the 1990s. Timeline * 1959. (5 October) Born at Clichy-la-Garenne (Hauts-de-Seine). Later receiv ...
, arguing that this would be incompatible with his presidential functions. On 10 October 2001, the
Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...
ruled that, while the president cannot be prosecuted by normal judicial means during his mandate, such an impossibility suspends the delays of prescription (
statute of limitation A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In m ...
). If Chirac does not run for office again in 2007 or is not re-elected, he may then be prosecuted on the several affairs he is involved in. This might explain why in 2003 some in the presidential entourage floated around the idea of Chirac running for a third term. Chirac's foremost critic was
deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...
Arnaud Montebourg Arnaud Montebourg (; born 30 October 1962) is a French politician, lawyer and entrepreneur who served as Minister of Industrial Renewal from 2012 to 2014,Socialist Party Socialist Party is the name of many different political parties around the world. All of these parties claim to uphold some form of socialism, though they may have very different interpretations of what "socialism" means. Statistically, most of th ...
, who filed a motion to bring him in front of the High Court of Justice (a procedure similar to
impeachment Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eur ...
, which has never been applied).


Vote rigging in Paris

In several districts of Paris, people were allegedly illegally registered on the
electoral roll An electoral roll (variously called an electoral register, voters roll, voters list, poll book or other description) is a compilation that lists persons who are entitled to vote for particular elections in a particular jurisdiction. The list is ...
s in an attempt to modify the outcome of elections. In some egregious cases, significant numbers of people were registered at the address of a hotel or of a shop. * In the 3rd arrondissement, 859 (being 5% of the registered voters) were, according to enquiries, fraudulently registered on the electoral rolls between 1988 and 1995. * In the 5th arrondissement, mayor
Jean Tiberi Jean Tiberi (; 30 January 1935 – 27 May 2025) was a French politician who served as mayor of Paris from 1995 to 2001.
, his wife
Xavière Tiberi Xavière Tiberi (born 22 August 1936) is the widow of the former mayor of Paris Jean Tiberi. She is mostly known for being involved in corruption scandals in the Paris region. Xavière Tiberi received 200,000 French Francs for a report on fra ...
and alleged accomplices were put under formal investigation. According to the '' instruction'', 7,228 people were fraudulently registered in the 5th arrondissement in 1997 and 3,315 of them voted when Jean Tiberi was elected deputy with 2,725 votes more than his opponent. On 21 March 2005, Jean Tiberi was put under criminal investigation for his alleged role in the altered electoral rolls. He denied having had anything to do with the action and pointed that he was re-elected by wide majorities, thus not needing fake voters.


Manipulated biddings for public procurement


Paris public housing projects

There was a shock when a videocassette of businessman was disclosed after his death in 1999, with ''
Le Monde (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'' publishing its full contents in September 2000. In the tape, Méry gave details of kickback schemes in the Paris region; in particular, he said that he delivered FRF 5 million in cash to
Michel Roussin Michel Roussin (born May 3, 1939 in Rabat, Morocco) was the chief of staff of Alexandre de Marenches, who directed the SDECE French secret service until the May 1981 election of François Mitterrand as President of France. Michel Roussin has al ...
, chief of staff of then prime minister
Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...
, "in Chirac's presence". "We only work on Mr. Chirac's orders," Méry said in the video. It was on these grounds that investigating magistrate Éric Halphen summoned president Jacques Chirac in March 2001 as witness, declaring that there were sufficient "clues" to warrant a full investigation. In September 2001, the Paris Appeal Court cancelled part of the proceedings on procedural vices, and removing the affair from judge Halphen's hands. In February 2005, investigating magistrate Armand Riberolles, who succeeded Halphen, abandoned charges against
Jean Tiberi Jean Tiberi (; 30 January 1935 – 27 May 2025) was a French politician who served as mayor of Paris from 1995 to 2001.
(who succeeded Chirac as mayor of Paris), who as former president of the OPAC (''Office Public d'Aménagement et de Construction'') of Paris, was prosecuted for "complicity in corruption" (''complicité de traffic d'influence'').
/ref> As of January 2006, several CEOs had been prosecuted in the trial, but not one politician. Forty-nine businessmen were prosecuted, among them , CEO of company and close to Chirac. According to ''Le Monde'', this trial was met with "relative indifference". The previous investigations had led to the resignation of magistrate Éric Halphen after several cases of intimidation and a tight struggle against the executive power. Personalities such as
Michel Roussin Michel Roussin (born May 3, 1939 in Rabat, Morocco) was the chief of staff of Alexandre de Marenches, who directed the SDECE French secret service until the May 1981 election of François Mitterrand as President of France. Michel Roussin has al ...
, or Jean Tiberi, former mayor of Paris, had all been previously acquitted. The investigating magistrate Armand Riberolles, who succeeded Eric Halphen, wrote that the "instruction hadn't been able to formally establish the personal involvement of responsible members of the higher echelons of the RPR", while noting that "a large number of testimonies, cross-checked by various factual elements, show that Jean-Claude Méry had been commissioned to ensure the financing of the RPR's political activities by collecting funds, in particular through the firms working with the OPAC." All proceedings leading to president Chirac had been thrown out in September 2001 by the Paris
Court of Appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...
, leading to the resignation of judge Halphen.


High-schools and other public works in the ÃŽle-de-France region

About 40 are under investigation for the alleged corruption at the
ÃŽle-de-France The ÃŽle-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...
regional council. Inquiries showed that 2% of the payments from the ÃŽle-de-France council to companies involved in building or repairs on the region's high schools were to be channeled as kickbacks to political parties, either through legal contributions (permitted under the 15 January 1990 law then in force), or through cash deliveries of fictitious employment (i.e. staff of political parties or politicians being paid by the involved companies). According to the enquiry, 1.2% went to the RPR, 0.8% to the
French Socialist Party The Socialist Party ( , PS) is a Centre-left politics, centre-left to Left-wing politics, left-wing List of political parties in France, political party in France. It holds Social democracy, social democratic and Pro-Europeanism, pro-European v ...
.
Michel Giraud Michel Giraud (14 July 1929 – 27 October 2011) was a French politician. He was notably Minister of Labor, deputy of Val-de-Marne, President of the Regional council of Île-de-France The Île-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the ...
, then president of the ÃŽle-de-France region, was one of the prime suspects. The following companies admitted to such practices: , , (GTM),
Bouygues Bouygues S.A. () is a French engineering group headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Bouygues is listed on the Euronext, Euronext Paris exchange and is a blue chip (stock market), blue chip in the ...
, CBC, Nord France, Dumez, Chagnaud, Fougerolle, SAEP, SCGPM, (SPIE). The investigations were conducted by investigating judges Armand Riberolles and Marc Brisset-Foucault In March 2005, the case went to trial before the Paris correctional court In October 2005, former president of the ÃŽle-de-France region Michel Giraud was condemned to four years of prison on probation and to pay an 80 000 euros fine;
Michel Roussin Michel Roussin (born May 3, 1939 in Rabat, Morocco) was the chief of staff of Alexandre de Marenches, who directed the SDECE French secret service until the May 1981 election of François Mitterrand as President of France. Michel Roussin has al ...
, former chief of staff of Jacques Chirac, was also condemned to four years of prison on probation and to a 50 000 euros fine. These sentences were accompanied by a 5 years suspension of civil and familial rights. Louise-Yvonne Cassetta and Guy Drut were also condemned on probation. Among the 47 persons prosecuted, only Gérard Longuet, former president of the republican party, was acquitted. ''
Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...
'' could state that: "Only one - big - absence in this trial and judgment: Jacques Chirac, whose shadow has constantly towered verthis four months debate".


Fictional jobs in government offices


City of Paris

During the tenure of Jacques Chirac as mayor of Paris, some people paid by the city government actually worked (full-time) for the RPR party.
Alain Juppé Alain Marie Juppé (; born 15 August 1945) is a French politician. A member of The Republicans, he was Prime Minister of France from 1995 to 1997 under President Jacques Chirac, during which period he faced major strikes that paralysed the c ...
, former secretary-general of the RPR (1988–1995) and former deputy mayor in charge of finances of the City of Paris (1983–1995) and had served as prime minister in 1995-97 was convicted along with accomplices and of abuse of public funds when he employed people on the city's payroll to perform tasks wholly for the benefit of his party. On 31 January 2004, Alain Juppé was sentenced by the correctional court of
Nanterre Nanterre (; ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, b ...
to 18-month
suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...
, as well as the deprivation of the right to vote for five years and the right to run for national office for 10 years (reduced on appeal to one year). On 1 December 2004, the
Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of ÃŽle-de-France, ÃŽle-de-France region in Franc ...
court of appeals reduced the sentence to a 14-month suspended sentence and a deprivation of the right to hold political office for one year. Juppé did not go to the
Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...
over this sentence, and had to resign from his position as mayor of
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
. Another scandal erupted after the ruling when the judges of the Nanterre court alleged that their offices and computers had been searched. President Chirac ordered an administration inquiry commission, composed of high-level magistrates (the vice-president of the
Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...
, and the first presidents of the Court of Cassation and the
Court of Auditors The European Court of Auditors (ECA; French: ''Cour des comptes européenne'') is the supreme audit institution of the European Union (EU). It was established in 1975 in Luxembourg and is one of the seven EU institutions. The Court comprises on ...
), to investigate the matter. This decision was criticized because there was no legal nor constitutional basis for it: normally, questions of judicial honesty are handled by the ''Conseil Supérieur de la Magistrature'' (CSM), which (politely) protested Chirac's action. The Nanterre judges refused to be heard by the commission, arguing they should see the CSM. The commission concluded that there had been security lapses at the Nanterre court, but did not conclude that there was any wrongdoing. A criminal investigation has also been opened. On 3 December 2004, the Court of Cassation ruled that a
court of appeal An appellate court, commonly called a court of appeal(s), appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to Hearing (law), hear a Legal case, case upon appeal from a trial court or other ...
s had incorrectly ruled that some cases of employment by or payments received from the City of Paris (under the Chirac and Tiberi administrations) for fictitious work fell under prescription (
statute of limitations A statute of limitations, known in civil law systems as a prescriptive period, is a law passed by a legislative body to set the maximum time after an event within which legal proceedings may be initiated. ("Time for commencing proceedings") In ...
). The court announced that the cases were now referred to the Versailles Court of Appeals. The current administration of the City of Paris, led by Socialist mayor Bertrand Delanoë, had appealed the prescription ruling before the Court of Cassation. Among the suspects are the
deputy Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...
of Paris
Jean de Gaulle Jean de Gaulle (born 13 June 1953) is a French politician. He is the son of Philippe de Gaulle and Henriette de Montalembert, and grandson of General Charles de Gaulle, Leader of Free France and President of France from 1958 to 1969. He was ...
, former minister Robert Pandraud etc.


Essonne

Xavière Tiberi Xavière Tiberi (born 22 August 1936) is the widow of the former mayor of Paris Jean Tiberi. She is mostly known for being involved in corruption scandals in the Paris region. Xavière Tiberi received 200,000 French Francs for a report on fra ...
, the spouse of mayor of Paris
Jean Tiberi Jean Tiberi (; 30 January 1935 – 27 May 2025) was a French politician who served as mayor of Paris from 1995 to 2001.
, received FRF 200,000 (approx. €30,000) for a report on
francophonie The Francophonie or Francophone world is the whole body of people and organisations around the world who use the French language regularly for private or public purposes. The term was coined by Onésime Reclus in 1880 and became important a ...
for the general council of the
Essonne Essonne () is a department in the southern part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659, across 194 communes.département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...
''. This 36-page report, possibly written after the payment as a justification, was extremely poorly written and contained numerous
spelling Spelling is a set of conventions for written language regarding how graphemes should correspond to the sounds of spoken language. Spelling is one of the elements of orthography, and highly standardized spelling is a prescriptive element. Spelli ...
and
grammatical In linguistics, grammaticality is determined by the conformity to language usage as derived by the grammar of a particular speech variety. The notion of grammaticality rose alongside the theory of generative grammar, the goal of which is to formu ...
mistakes.


Illegal use of government services


Usage of City of Paris gardening services for private purposes

In 2004, mayor Bertrand Delanoë filed a complaint for the past abuse of City of Paris gardening services for private purposes, estimating the public losses to at least €700,000. Individuals close to the RPR allegedly enjoyed free gardening services from City of Paris employees in their houses of the upscale areas of Paris and suburbs. City supplies were allegedly also taken for private usage.
François Fillon François Charles Amand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a French retired politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of The Republicans (previously known as the Union ...
who held the position of Prime Minister from 2007 to 2012, was convicted in 2020 for falsely claiming a parliamentary salary for his wife. This conviction highlighted Fillon's wrongdoing in improperly utilizing public funds by allegedly paying his spouse for work she did not actually perform.


See also

*
Corruption in France Corruption in France describes the prevention and occurrence of corruption in France. France has ratified several important international anti-corruption conventions such as the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in ...
* List of French political scandals *
Law on transparency, the fight against corruption and the modernization of economic life The Law on transparency, the fight against corruption and the modernization of economic life ( French: ''Loi relative à la transparence, à la lutte contre la corruption et à la modernisation de la vie économique)'', also known as the Sapin II ...
* '' Affaire des emplois fictifs de la mairie de Paris'' * '' Affaire des marchés publics d'Île-de-France'' * '' Affaire des marchés truqués des lycées d'Île-de-France''


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Corruption Scandals in the Paris Region History of Paris Corruption in France Political scandals in France Contemporary French history 1980s in France 1990s in France Jacques Chirac