Not yet released from his duties, the Minister Delegate for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari wants to convert to a manufacturer of hydrogen cars, which the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life has accepted with “reservations”. The start-up Hopium, which is preparing the production of cars using hydrogen, one of the avenues for decarbonizing mobility, announced on Monday that it had proposed that Jean-Baptiste Djebbari join it, while the announcement of a new government is imminent and the minister wants to leave politics.
“Hopium (…) announces today the strengthening of its governance, with the proposal of Jean-Baptiste Djebbari as administrator”, indicated the company in a press release, specifying that it would be “subject to the approval of the next general assembly of Hopium, on June 20, 2022”. In the process, the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life (HATVP), which examined – at the request of the minister’s office – the risk of conflicts of interest that could arise therefrom, concluded that “as things stand information available to him, the risk of illegal taking of interests can be ruled out, subject to the sovereign assessment of the criminal judge”.
“Classic Reserves”
On the other hand, “it is advisable to supervise (his) future professional relations” because “it cannot be excluded that Jean-Baptiste Djebbari is brought to carry out” “special steps with the public authorities”, adds the authority, which has issued this opinion in March but did not publish it until Monday. The request mentions the fact that Jean-Baptiste Djebbari becomes a “member” or “president (of) the board of directors” of Hopium, a company which has around thirty employees.
The HATVP draws up the list of people with whom he “must abstain (…) from any approach, including the representation of interests”: “members of the government who were members at the same time as him”, “members of his cabinet and those of the ministers successively in charge of the ecological transition, as long as they still occupy public functions”, “services available to him as Minister Delegate in charge of Transport”. All for three years from the termination of the working relationship.
Specializing in the construction of high-end hydrogen vehicles, Hopium was founded in 2019 by French racing driver Olivier Lombard, for whom the arrival of Jean-Baptiste Djebbari “constitutes a major step” in the development of the company. Former airplane pilot, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, 40, has been in government since 2019. Elected in 2017 deputy for Haute-Vienne under the LREM label, he made himself known in 2018 as rapporteur for the project of railway reform. The appointment proposal “was communicated today (Monday) by the company because it is a legal obligation for listed companies, 35 days before the general meeting” of shareholders, explained his cabinet to AFP, also noting that the HATVP has issued “classic reservations for anyone leaving the government”.
minister and student
The Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire and his colleague from the Ecological Transition Barbara Pompili, on whom Jean-Baptiste Djebbari depends, announced in September 2020 a plan of 7 billion euros over ten years to develop hydrogen on a large scale. , in order to make industry and transport “cleaner”. In parallel with his ministerial functions, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari followed on his funds a prestigious training of “Executive Master” at Polytechnique, program intended for executives and leaders.
In a letter interview with former X in December 2021, the minister revealed that he had registered for this training, which comprises 12 modules of four to five days spread over 14 months, before being appointed minister. “I have obviously fulfilled all my political commitments in terms of presence in Parliament, in the councils of ministers and in the defense councils, which are particularly numerous during the health crisis”, he underlined.
Hopium, whose premises Mr. Djebbari had visited as part of his duties in September 2021, has raised 16 million euros and wishes to find an additional 100 in 2022 with a marketing objective in 2025 on the still fledgling market of cars with hydrogen. The HATVP, an independent authority chaired by the former socialist deputy Didier Migaud, controls in particular the professional retraining of former ministers and presidents of local executives.