Macron marketing campaign accounts cleared by French audit physique

PARIS (Reuters) – French President Emmanuel Macron’s 2022 election marketing campaign funds, which got here beneath scrutiny amid a wider controversy linked to U.S. consultancy McKinsey’s ties to his authorities, have been cleared by an audit fee, the physique mentioned on Friday.

The impartial state physique mentioned it had acquired two tips on alleged irregularities in Macron’s re-election marketing campaign accounts which cited “irregular” help from unspecified consultancies, however mentioned they seemed to be unfounded.

“As issues stands, (the fee) has no proof to name into query the content material and scope of (Macron’s) assertion”, the audit fee mentioned, including that Macron had denied the accusations when the physique questioned him about it.

The choice supplies some reduction to Macron, regardless that it’s fully separate from an ongoing investigation carried out by monetary prosecutors and specializing in whether or not his authorities has handed out contracts to consulting corporations in return for the professional bono work their staff did in Macron’s marketing campaign.

Though there has to date been no proof of law-breaking from both Macron or his authorities on this situation, the so-called “McKinsey affair” has been utilized by political opponents to painting the French chief as in cahoots with massive enterprise.

Authorities ministers have been pressured to confess they “went too far” within the authorities’s use of consulting corporations, after the large sums paid to such corporations in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic prompted outrage and parliamentary investigations.

The judicial investigation into using consulting corporations is the closest to have come to Macron, who swept to energy promising to scrub up politics in France.

Macron has mentioned his marketing campaign accounts had been flawless and that, as president, he doesn’t straight take care of public tenders, including: “The core of the investigation will not be about me.”

Along with his marketing campaign accounts now cleared and affirmation he didn’t break the authorized ceiling utilized to presidential election spending, Macron will get again about 10.4 million euros ($11.30 million) from the state in the direction of his marketing campaign spending.

All the opposite contenders within the 2022 presidential election had their marketing campaign accounts cleared by the state physique.

($1 = 0.9203 euros)

(Reporting by Nicolas Delame, writing by Tassilo Hummel; modifying by Michel Rose, William Maclean)