After ten years of absence, Jérôme Cahuzac recently organized a public meeting in Monsempron-Libos, in his former constituency of Lot-et-Garonne. The former minister of François Hollande was then questioned about his possible return to politics, as reported by franceinfo. “Doing politics is the conquest of power and it is public action. Public action can only be exercised with legitimacy, that is to say with a mandate. It’s clear that I don’t forbid myself anything”, he retorted. As a reminder, the 71-year-old politician had been sentenced in 2018 to four years in prisontwo of which were suspended, and five years of ineligibility, for tax evasion.
On April 2, 2013, the former Minister of the Budget had therefore decided to confess and resign from his functions after being accused of tax evasion by Mediapart. However, the socialist had for a time completely denied the said accusations to Emmanuel Macron’s predecessor, as detailed by our colleagues at franceinfo at the time. “Is it true or is it false??”, the former tenant of the Élysée would then have questioned him by telephone. And the person concerned responded: “It’s wrong.“As our colleagues reported, it would be through Jérôme Cahuzac’s blog that François Hollande would then have been informed of the truth, thus arousing in the former president “cold anger”.
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“He will remain the one who lied”
Invited on Franceinfo on Monday November 27, François Hollande was questioned about the return of Jérôme Cahuzac. “Criminally, he was sentenced to prison and he served his sentence. He can therefore regain his functions as a citizen“, he first recalled. But Julie Gayet’s husband seemed not to have yet digested the blow from his former collaborator: “But morally, he will remain the one who lied. Who lied in front of the national representation in the Assembly, who lied to his political family, who lied to me and who ultimately lied to the whole country.” And to conclude, sharply: “It will not be not the first time that a convict presents himself in elections. Sometimes he can be elected. Is this a sign of the vitality of democracy? I do not believe.”
Article written in collaboration with 6Medias
Photo credits: Stephane Lemouton / Bestimage