Expensive, convenient meals “disputable” and lack of transparency: the regional chamber of accounts is harsh on the communication expenses of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region and its former president Laurent Wauquiez, in a report included on Thursday on the menu of its plenary assembly.
The most notable facts (including a dinner costing more than 1,200 euros between Laurent Wauquiez and the writer Michel Houellebecq) were revealed following leaks to the regional press at the beginning of August, in the middle of the Olympic Games.
The elected LR, re-elected deputy thanks to the dissolution, assured not to have known the amount of the bill and then said he was ready to reimburse the “excessive amounts”. He has since left the presidency of the region under the rules on the non-cumulation of mandates.
The report, which AFP was able to consult, particularly highlights communication costs largely organized around the person of Laurent Wauquiez, potential right-wing candidate for the next presidential election.
The mayor of Moutiers and president of the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region, Fabrice Pannekoucke (d), is congratulated by the leader of LR deputies Laurent Wauquiez (g) at the headquarters of the Auvergne Rhône-Alpes region in Lyon, September 5 2024 / JEFF PACHOUD / AFP/Archives
Cet “amalgam”“can lead to expenditure that is not solely motivated by institutional logic”underlines the financial policeman. The strategy of ” visibility “ of the region “would benefit from being presented for information” to the regional council, she adds.
The regional executive, today chaired by Fabrice Pannekoucke (LR), assures for its part, in a scathing response published in the appendix, that “less than 5% of communication expenses highlight the regional president”.
As for informing elected officials, “despite our request, the new president refused to allow the CRC report to be the subject of deliberation” and will only be entitled to two minutes of debate on Thursday during the plenary assembly, deplores Johann Cesa, vice-president of the socialist group.
“Personal interest”
If the CRC emphasizes that the region’s communication expenses represent “less than 1% of the total budget” of the community, she however points to catering costs “significantly increasing in 2022” with an envelope of 77,180 euros compared to 22,718 euros in 2019.
French writer, poet, filmmaker, actor and singer Michel Houellebecq during a photo shoot in Paris, June 30, 2023 / JOEL SAGET / AFP/Archives
Fifteen meals were scrutinized, including two dinners with Michel Houellebecq for 1,248 euros and 900 euros, a lunch for six people including three journalists from Valeurs Acteurs, for a disputed amount (5,100 euros according to the CRC, less than 2,000 euros for the region)…
The court also asks to “put an end to the purchase of opinion studies with political connotations” and cites a study carried out after an intervention by Laurent Wauquiez on BFMTV in March 2021 during the regional election campaign.
“An investigation which concerns the image of the president of the regional council presents a personal political interest for the person concerned, but not necessarily a local public interest”listeners note.
This point was the subject of a report to the courts by the socialist opposition group.
The report also discusses the organization of the Summit Dinner in June 2022, a sumptuous meal organized at the region’s expense with around a hundred guests, which is the subject of an investigation by the national financial prosecutor’s office.
« Insinuations »
A communication that costs more than the promoted system? The report notes “certain questionable practices” on this point.
Laurent Wauquiez at the National Assembly, July 18, 2024 in Paris / STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN / AFP/Archives
He cites in particular letters signed by the president praising the region’s efforts to secure the presence in summer of a rescue helicopter for the Clermont-Ferrand University Hospital. For 317,000 euros, sending the letters, within an urgent deadline, cost more than the measure itself, according to the CRC.
In an offensive response, the region notes that the court “does not identify any illegality in the operation” and strongly contests the remarks on studies with political connotations and business meals.
For her, the report includes “obvious errors of analysis”as well as “legal and material errors” on certain points. The region, which accuses the CRC of having “ignored” certain documents transmitted, also denounces “a general tone made of suspicions, insinuations and unfounded judgments of expediency”.