Jean-Claude Gaudin was sentenced Tuesday in Paris to a suspended six-month prison sentence for having delayed putting an end to a generalized system of overtime unduly granted to municipal agents, without effective work.
With his chief of staff, four other former administration officials and the former director of Samu social, the former mayor of Marseille for 25 years was prosecuted for “misappropriation of public funds by negligence”, within the framework of an investigation by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) started in 2017, after an initial investigation by the Marseille prosecutor’s office.
“I was negligent”
Justice accuses them of not having taken measures (badgers, control service, etc.), between December 2013 and April 2018, to put an end to generalized practices within about fifteen municipal services, hours supplements granted monthly, without actual work done, in violation of labor law. “Yes, I was negligent and I didn’t take enough interest in the inner workings of things,” said the former mayor of Marseille, by videoconference, during a plea hearing before the 32nd chamber of the court. correctional.
The investigations first concerned the Samu social, then were extended to other municipal services (libraries, museum, car park service, security department, etc.) of this city of some 870,000 inhabitants, which employs around 12,000 officers. In a 2013 report, the regional chamber of accounts estimated the shortfall due to this system at 10 million euros per year for the municipal budget, or 280 full-time equivalents.
Gaudin will also have to pay a fine of 10,000 euros.
“Social cohesion has always seemed important to me. When you have strikes, it costs the city’s finances even more,” pointed out the 82-year-old former mayor, also sentenced to pay a fine of 10,000 euros. . To justify the sentence proposed by the PNF, the prosecutor, Quentin Dandoy, recalled the “context” which “pre-existed” at the arrival of Jean-Claude Gaudin, and underlined that none of the defendants benefited from enrichment. staff.
A survey covering the period 2013-2018
The investigation was limited to the period 2013-2018 due to the prescription on the one hand and the first “measures which reflected a desire to change things” adopted by the municipal council in 2018 on the other hand.
The PNF had initially summoned the defendants to appear before the criminal court in a classic hearing. But the defendants then obtained an appearance on prior admission of guilt (CRPC), which is based on an agreement between the prosecution and the perpetrator of an offense, who admits his guilt.