Maya Trémolet / Photo credit: Stephane Mouchmouche / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP
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1:24 p.m., June 14, 2023
The day after searches of several key players in the Marianne Fund affair, Marlène Schiappa was heard this Wednesday morning by senators. The Secretary of State for the Social and Solidarity Economy denies any embezzlement and personal intervention.
What is the degree of involvement of Marlène Schiappa in the affair of the Marianne Fund? The current Secretary of State for the Social and Solidarity Economy was heard this Wednesday morning by the senators, the day after searches of several key players in this file. She tried to clarify her role in the controversial management of the Marianne Fund which she launched in April 2021 to fight “separatism”, after the assassination of Samuel Paty.
“I am not a friend of Mr. Sifaoui”
From the first moments of the hearing, the Secretary of State is on the defensive. She repeats it, she was not part of the selection committee of the associations and denies any personal intervention. The minister also maintains that she has no connection whatsoever with Mohamed Sifaoui, one of the main beneficiaries of the Marianne Fund. “I am not a friend of Mr. Sifaoui. I have no personal relationship of any kind with Mr. Sifaoui and never had,” she said.
“I do not intervene personally”
A clear defense against the skeptical members of a commission of inquiry who contradict her on the chronology and above all seek to identify the role played by the minister. The other objective is to understand the large sum allocated to Mohamed Sifaoui, since it seems to have been promised to him before the creation of the fund.
But here too, the minister discards. “There is a selection committee which is set up with members of the administration and members of my cabinet. I do not intervene personally, I am not in the selection committee. On the other hand, I Of course, I am kept regularly informed by my cabinet of the discussions that may exist around the allocation of subsidies”, she said.
Mohamed Sifaoui auditioned Thursday morning
The Secretary of State thus maintains at all costs her lack of involvement in the affair. A version difficult to confirm after the testimony of the prefect in charge of managing the fund, who said the opposite. Mohamed Sifaoui must meanwhile be heard Thursday morning at 9 am by the commission of inquiry.