He had struggled to justify to the senators the problematic management of this financial windfall launched following the assassination of Samuel Paty. Christian Gravel, the prefect responsible for the Interministerial Committee for the Prevention of Delinquency and Radicalization (CIPDR) responsible for managing the Marianne Fund for the Fight against Separatism, “wished to submit his resignation, which was accepted”, announced, Tuesday, June 6, the Ministry of the Interior in a press release.
This decision follows the publication of a report by the General Administration Inspectorate (IGA) on the subsidy paid to one of the associations benefiting from the fund. The summary of this report, sent by Place Beauvau, denounces “a privileged treatment” reserved by Mr. Gravel for this association.
“The CIPDR General Secretariat has not taken the necessary steps to properly monitor the execution of the grant paid to the USEPPM”, the main beneficiary association of the fund, it says. “This failure is, in part, attributable to the association, which did not send the documentation required by the agreement on time. It also stems from failures in the organization of the service, a lack of vigilance and privileged treatment reserved for this association. “.
It was under the aegis of Christian Gravel that the 2.5 million euros of the Marianne fund were allocated in 2021 – a communication label in reality, since the money is taken from the manna of the interministerial fund prevention programs – intended to finance actions to prevent radicalization online, in particular by developing a “counter-discourse”.
“neither transparent nor fair”
The association of the essayist Mohamed Sifaoui, the Federative Union of Physical Education and Military Preparation Societies (USEPPM), received the largest sum among the seventeen structures selected by the selection committee: 355,000 euros , for a detailed project in a six-page document.
The USEPPM platform, dubbed “iLaïc”, was to “confront directly” with Islamist activists and disseminate a response discourse consisting of multimedia content. 500 contents were produced, aggregating both videos and simple tweets, on an account which displays barely 1,500 subscribers.
Initially endowed with 2.5 million euros, the Marianne fund launched on April 20, 2021 by Marlène Schiappa after the shock caused by the assassination of Professor Samuel Paty, aimed to finance associations carrying speeches promoting the values ????of the Republic. to bring, especially on social networks, the contradiction to radical Islam.
The IGA also points out that the CIPDR’s “call for projects” to select initiatives “was neither transparent nor fair”. She regrets that “the use made of the grant received by the USEPPM [was] not in accordance with the objectives set out in the agreement” between her and the CIPDR, and that “part of the grant did not ] not been expended in accordance with the agreement”. The mission “recommends” that “the CIPDR request the USEPPM to reimburse almost half of the grant paid”.
All of the IGA’s recommendations “will be implemented,” promises Beauvau. According to the ministry, another IGA report on all 17 associations benefiting from the fund will be submitted at the end of June.