Deputy LR Éric Ciotti, candidate for the presidency of his party, said he was “basely attacked” this Wednesday by an article in the chained duck revealing that his ex-wife has accumulated several jobs in the Assembly, in Nice and in the department. In its edition today, the newspaper says that the former wife of Éric Ciotti, Caroline Magne, has accumulated various jobs with the deputy or political allies. Press attaché to Christian Estrosi, she became Éric Ciotti’s parliamentary attaché in 2007 when he was elected to the Assembly. This in addition to a job at the Departmental Council of the Alpes Maritimes where she “extends her skills” when her husband takes over as president in 2008.
The article also reveals that she became deputy director of the mayor of Nice before joining the steering team of the urban community, exercising these responsibilities until 2011. At the Assembly, her contract ended in 2016 but she also, between 2014 and 2016, exercised responsibilities in the town of La Colle-sur-Loup, and had a job in the diocese of Nice between 2012 and 2014, assures the chained duck.
“The accumulation of activity has never exceeded 44 hours per week”
“In both cases, the accumulation of activity never exceeded 44 hours per week”, replied Éric Ciotti in a press release, saying he was “basely attacked” on the eve of the election for the presidency of LR in early December. . The deputy explained that he had employed Caroline Magne as a “very part-time” parliamentary assistant and “in strict compliance with laws and regulations”. His job “in the constituency” reached “5:25 a week”, he assured. As for the one at the town hall of La-Colle-sur-Loup, “the weekly working time has never exceeded 9 hours per week”, he specified.
“The explanation is quite clear, when you say that there is no questionable element in law, I do not see a priori where the subject is”, affirmed on Public Senate the boss of the deputies LR Olivier Marleix. Senator LR Valérie Boyer said to Public Senate “tired of these perpetual attacks to discredit our candidates, it’s something that seems to me very unhealthy for democracy”.
For his part Christian Estrosi, former mentor of Eric Ciotti before their estrangement, refused to comment on this case. “I remember a collaborator who was rather honest and rather rigorous”, simply said on France2 the vice-president of Horizons.