PARIS — Former French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe will cooperate fully with investigators after financial prosecutors ordered a judicial inquiry into allegations of embezzlement, a local official linked to Philippe said Tuesday.
Philippe, one of the leading candidates ahead of the 2027 presidential election, “takes note” of the opening of the inquiry against him, said the official for Le Havre regional authority, who was granted anonymity in line with protocol rules. “He will, of course, answer all the questions that the [magistrates] will ask him in a very serene fashion, as he always has done,” said the official.
France’s National Financial Authority opened an investigation into the allegations that Philippe, in his role as mayor and head of the Le Havre regional authority, favored a non-profit organization run by an ally to oversee projects linked to the city’s digital hub. According to a statement from France’s financial prosecutor Pascal Prache, Philippe is being probed for alleged embezzlement of public funds, favoritism and illegal conflict of interest.