In the premises of her office in Nice, Christelle D’Intorni lifts five thick paper folders which she places on the meeting table. Inside, the Les Républicains (LR) MP for Alpes-Maritimes reveals bundles of sheets, complete photocopies of the large account books of the Public Interest Group (GIP) GPF-Le Castellet, the legal structure which oversaw the Grand French Formula 1 Prix, organized between 2018 and 2022 on the Paul-Ricard circuit (Var). In her colorful files, one for each accounting year, Christelle D’Intorni has all the revenue and expenses recorded by the legal entity which carried the motor racing and which was placed in compulsory liquidation on March 21. Documents that this professional lawyer carefully went through, highlighting with pink stabilo the lines that seemed problematic to her.
“The amounts are exorbitant”she is indignant, multiplying the examples of expenses whose recipients are not known: from meal costs to “the black truffle” for 53,159 euros in July 2018, invoices of 10,816 euros from the luxury pen manufacturer Montblanc in January 2022, an expense report from a single employee of 4,153 euros in March 2019, plane tickets to destination from Dubai for 8,600 euros in November 2018…
There are also recurring expenses at the Hôtel du Castellet, a prestigious five-star establishment in the region. An entry dating from July 5, 2018, shortly after the first edition of the Formula 1 Grand Prix, shows a disbursement of 30,748 euros for “guest accommodation”. “What is shocking is that travel costs continue to increase and we find luxury expenses for colossal sums, the link with the GIP raises questions”storms the MP.
Otherwise lucrative markets
The former mayor of the rural commune of Rimplas (Alpes-Maritimes), in the heart of Mercantour, began to look into the matter in July 2023, when the Nice-Côte d’Azur metropolis, of which she is elected, was called upon to vote on a charge of 5 million euros, including interest, with a view to the dissolution of the GIP GPF-Le Castellet.
The decision to dissolve then seems obvious: Formula One Group, the company which markets the prestigious automobile competition, has decided not to renew the contract with the structure. The subsidiary of the American conglomerate Liberty Media has changed strategy, turning to otherwise lucrative markets for various reasons, in the United States, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.
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