Anne-Christine Lang will not set foot in politics again. The former MP accepted the three-year ineligibility sentence and the fine of 60,000 euros proposed by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) to complete the investigation which targeted her for embezzlement of public funds. This appearance on prior admission of guilt, the French version of the American guilty plea, was approved by the Paris Criminal Court on Tuesday, May 9.
During the hearing, Ms. Lang admitted having used part of her representative mandate expense allowance (IRFM) for personal purposes. “Non-compliant expenses” of 44,650 euros, as recalled by the president of the court, citing as examples medical consultations, the purchase of toys and children’s clothing, the payment of contributions to a political party or more checks in favor of people or companies “unrelated to the mandate of deputy”.
The investigation focused on Anne-Christine Lang’s use of the IRFM during her first term (2014-2017), before the socialist joined La République en Marche for a second term (2017-2022). If the amount retained at the start exceeded 100,000 euros, the PNF decided not to take into account the sums spent before March 3, 2015, the date on which the rules for using the IRFM were clarified by a “letter of ‘information’ from the President of the National Assembly. Before that, “the use of the IRFM was poorly regulated and the deputies did a little what they wanted”, recalled the financial prosecutor Hedy Djilali.
Fifteen cases sent to justice
Despite the tightening of the rules, the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life found that some bad practices in terms of IRFM had persisted. In 2018, the institution reported to the courts the case of 15 (former) parliamentarians for possible illicit use of their mandate expenses envelope. Among them, the former senator Philippe Nachbar (Les Républicains, Meurthe-et-Moselle), sentenced in January for embezzlement of public funds, and the former socialist deputy Jean-Christophe Cambadélis, whose trial must be held at the ‘autumn.
The situation of Anne-Christine Lang was brought to the attention of justice in a second time, in 2019, following the revelations of the investigation cell of Radio France, which had been able to access the details of certain disputed expenses. Ms. Lang admitted at the time to “negligence”, while deeming herself to be “good faith”. Faced with the court, she finally recognized an embezzlement of public funds. The sums in dispute were fully reimbursed to the National Assembly at the beginning of the year.
The May 9 hearing was her final link to her life as a politician. Beaten during the legislative elections of June 2022, Anne-Christine Lang has since resumed her post as a civil servant within the national education system. The court accepted his request not to register the conviction on his criminal record, and thus avoid any additional problems with his administration. Asked after the hearing, she quickly left the court and did not wish to react to this conviction.
