French prosecutors on Thursday announced a preliminary investigation into a property deal involving one of President Emmanuel Macron's ministers, on the same day the new government unveiled proposals to clean up politics.
The probe adds to the pressure on territorial cohesion minister Richard Ferrand, who has for days rebuffed calls to resign over allegations of favouritism towards his common-law wife in a lucrative deal with a health insurance fund.
The affair is an embarrassment for 39-year-old Macron, who swept to power on May 7 on a pledge to rejuvenate France's tainted political class.
The announcement of the investigation overshadowed the government's presentation of its first bill, which aims to boost ethics in public office.
The draft law includes a ban on ministers and parliamentarians hiring family members -- a move aimed at avoiding a repeat of the scandal that tripped up conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon on the campaign trail.
Fillon had been leading the race until it emerged that his wife and two of his children earned nearly a million euros for suspected fake jobs as parliamentary assistants.
The affair cost Fillon crucial support and boosted Macron, a relative newcomer to politics who campaigned as a clean pair of hands.
Now Macron is fighting accusations of being soft on possible wrongdoing in his own camp, less than two weeks before crucial parliamentary elections in which he is aiming for a majority.
The Canard Enchaine newspaper reported last week that a public insurance fund previously headed by Ferrand in his native Brittany agreed in 2011 to rent a building from his partner and pay for renovations that significantly boosted its value.
The 54-year-old minister, who was one of Macron's first prominent backers, says his partner made the fund the best offer and that he had no say in the matter.
"I am an honest man," Ferrand told France Inter radio on Wednesday, adding: "Everything I have done in my professional life is legal, public and transparent."
- 'Democracy bank' -
Further revelations in recent days about Ferrand's twin activities as fund manager and MP have fuelled suspicion of conflict of interest, overshadowing Macron's highly anticipated draft law on "confidence in public action".
Prosecutors initially said there were no grounds for an investigation into Ferrand but on Thursday said they changed their minds in light of "extra elements that could implicate" the former Socialist politician.
Ferrand was also revealed last week to have hired his son to act as his parliamentary assistant in 2014 -- a practice that, while legal, has created resentment among French voters.
"For years, and particularly in recent months, we have seen practices that have damaged the trust the citizens have in their representatives and caused deep exasperation," Justice Minister Francois Bayrou said Thursday as he presented the ethics bill.
Apart from fighting nepotism, the legislation proposes the creation of a "democracy bank" to help parties fund their election campaigns and to introduce bans on officials convicted of corruption or fraud from holding office for up to 10 years.
- 'Manageable' scandal -
The Ferrand affair, as it has been dubbed, has been the lone snag in an otherwise smooth start to Macron's tenure, in which he has drawn praise for forming a balanced, cross-party government, standing up to US President Donald Trump and taking a firm line with Russia's Vladimir Putin.
Macron's rivals on the left and right have seized on the controversy to try to win back ground lost to the centrist ahead of the June 11-18 parliamentary elections.
The conservative Republicans party, still smarting from Fillon's elimination in the first round of the presidential election, has accused Macron of ethical double-standards -- as has Marine Le Pen's far-right National Front (FN) and the Socialist Party.
Le Pen, who was runner-up to Macron in the presidential vote, said Thursday the Ferrand affair "looks terribly like the Fillon affair".
But political analyst Jerome Sainte-Marie of the PollingVox survey company said he did not expect the allegations to severely damage Macron.
"It is not great but it is very manageable because it is not about campaign financing and therefore does not affect the heart of the machine," he said, predicting Macron would obtain a "strong majority" in the parliamentary election.
A Kantar Sofres poll on Tuesday showed Macron's party on course to win the first round with 31 percent. No projections are available for the second round.
French prosecutors on Thursday announced a preliminary investigation into a property deal involving one of President Emmanuel Macron’s ministers, on the same day the new government unveiled proposals to clean up politics.
The probe adds to the pressure on territorial cohesion minister Richard Ferrand, who has for days rebuffed calls to resign over allegations of favouritism towards his common-law wife in a lucrative deal with a health insurance fund.
The affair is an embarrassment for 39-year-old Macron, who swept to power on May 7 on a pledge to rejuvenate France’s tainted political class.
The announcement of the investigation overshadowed the government’s presentation of its first bill, which aims to boost ethics in public office.
The draft law includes a ban on ministers and parliamentarians hiring family members — a move aimed at avoiding a repeat of the scandal that tripped up conservative presidential candidate Francois Fillon on the campaign trail.
Fillon had been leading the race until it emerged that his wife and two of his children earned nearly a million euros for suspected fake jobs as parliamentary assistants.
The affair cost Fillon crucial support and boosted Macron, a relative newcomer to politics who campaigned as a clean pair of hands.
Now Macron is fighting accusations of being soft on possible wrongdoing in his own camp, less than two weeks before crucial parliamentary elections in which he is aiming for a majority.
The Canard Enchaine newspaper reported last week that a public insurance fund previously headed by Ferrand in his native Brittany agreed in 2011 to rent a building from his partner and pay for renovations that significantly boosted its value.
The 54-year-old minister, who was one of Macron’s first prominent backers, says his partner made the fund the best offer and that he had no say in the matter.
“I am an honest man,” Ferrand told France Inter radio on Wednesday, adding: “Everything I have done in my professional life is legal, public and transparent.”
– ‘Democracy bank’ –
Further revelations in recent days about Ferrand’s twin activities as fund manager and MP have fuelled suspicion of conflict of interest, overshadowing Macron’s highly anticipated draft law on “confidence in public action”.
Prosecutors initially said there were no grounds for an investigation into Ferrand but on Thursday said they changed their minds in light of “extra elements that could implicate” the former Socialist politician.
Ferrand was also revealed last week to have hired his son to act as his parliamentary assistant in 2014 — a practice that, while legal, has created resentment among French voters.
“For years, and particularly in recent months, we have seen practices that have damaged the trust the citizens have in their representatives and caused deep exasperation,” Justice Minister Francois Bayrou said Thursday as he presented the ethics bill.
Apart from fighting nepotism, the legislation proposes the creation of a “democracy bank” to help parties fund their election campaigns and to introduce bans on officials convicted of corruption or fraud from holding office for up to 10 years.
– ‘Manageable’ scandal –
The Ferrand affair, as it has been dubbed, has been the lone snag in an otherwise smooth start to Macron’s tenure, in which he has drawn praise for forming a balanced, cross-party government, standing up to US President Donald Trump and taking a firm line with Russia’s Vladimir Putin.
Macron’s rivals on the left and right have seized on the controversy to try to win back ground lost to the centrist ahead of the June 11-18 parliamentary elections.
The conservative Republicans party, still smarting from Fillon’s elimination in the first round of the presidential election, has accused Macron of ethical double-standards — as has Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Front (FN) and the Socialist Party.
Le Pen, who was runner-up to Macron in the presidential vote, said Thursday the Ferrand affair “looks terribly like the Fillon affair”.
But political analyst Jerome Sainte-Marie of the PollingVox survey company said he did not expect the allegations to severely damage Macron.
“It is not great but it is very manageable because it is not about campaign financing and therefore does not affect the heart of the machine,” he said, predicting Macron would obtain a “strong majority” in the parliamentary election.
A Kantar Sofres poll on Tuesday showed Macron’s party on course to win the first round with 31 percent. No projections are available for the second round.
