PARIS (Reuters) – The French Minister for Labour, Full Employment and Integration, Olivier Dussopt, will appear in November before the Paris Criminal Court on charges of favoritism, the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) said on Friday. confirming information from BFM TV.
Olivier Dussopt “is summoned from November 27 to 30, 2023 before the Paris Criminal Court for acts of favoritism (offence of undermining the equal treatment of candidates in public contracts),” the PNF told Reuters.
He is suspected of having favored in 2009, when he was mayor of Annonay (Ardèche), obtaining a contract for water management from the company Saur.
Olivier Dussopt had challenged the suspicion of favoritism in February and said he was determined to “explain how things happened, to convince of (his) good faith” and thus avoid a criminal trial.
The minister retains the support of the Prime Minister, indicated the entourage of Elisabeth Borne, adding that justice continues its work in complete independence and that Olivier Dussopt will have the opportunity to put forward his arguments before the court.
(Report Sudip Kar-Gupta, with the contribution of Zhifan Liu and Elizabeth Pineau, written by Kate Entringer, edited by Blandine Hénault)
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