According to a statement from the National Financial Prosecutor Pascal Prache, the failed raid was conducted as part of a probe linked to contracts over the organization of memorial ceremonies. French presidency staff told investigators they could not search the Elysée Palace, because the premises are covered by presidential immunity, the statement said.
The investigators were looking into allegations of favoritism, corruption, influence peddling and unlawful conflict of interest with relation to the holding of memorial ceremonies at the Panthéon in Paris, per the prosecutor’s statement. The Panthéon mausoleum holds the remains of France’s great men and women, and several illustrious figures such as French-American singer Josephine Baker have been inducted in recent years.
According to French newspaper Le Canard Enchainé, that first reported on the attempted raid at the Elysée Palace, investigators were looking into why a firm called Shortcut Events was repeatedly given contracts to organize ceremonies in the Pantheon. According to the newspaper, each ceremony cost €2 million.
Investigators are reportedly looking into links between the Shortcut Events company and the Centre for National Monuments, the French institution which manages France’s vast historical heritage.