Christophe Castaner estimated on Sunday that the questioning by the Senate of the private firm McKinsey, which has signed numerous contracts with the State and has not paid taxes for years, was a “trial of intent” and a “political operation”.
“It’s a trial of intent. When you speak, for 16.5 million euros for a full year, of McKinsey 477 times, it is indeed a political operation”, declared on RMC the leader of the deputies of the majority La République en Marche.
The Senate revealed on March 17, as part of a commission of inquiry initiated by the small group CRCE (Communist, Republican, Citizen and Ecologist) with a Communist majority, that the contracts concluded by the State with the cabinets of consultants like McKinsey had “more than doubled” between 2018 and 2021, reaching a record amount of over €1 billion in 2021.
The senators also took legal action for “suspicion of false testimony” against a McKinsey executive who claimed that his firm paid corporate tax (IS) in France, while the commission of inquiry noted that McKinsey’s French entities had paid no corporation tax for ten years.
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“The complaint has no chance of succeeding,” said Christophe Castaner.
“There are a certain number of temporary assignments (for) which you use private service providers”, defended the MP before continuing, “it’s really a totally stupid trial, that of saying ‘everything should be internalized’ from the school canteen (…) to a certain number of specific missions.
Last Sunday, Emmanuel Macron, candidate for his re-election had launched to those who reproach him for these numerous contracts: “If there is evidence of manipulation, let it go to the criminal”. The candidate president had considered in particular that the non-payment of the IS by McKinsey was explained by the tax rules in force.