Marlène Schiappa’s former chief of staff, Sébastien Jallet, assured the Senate on Wednesday that he had not solicited the main beneficiary association of the Marianne fund, questioned for the use of subsidies, contrary to the assertions of one of its officials. Launched on April 20, 2021 by Marlène Schiappa, then Minister Delegate for Citizenship after the shock caused by the assassination of Professor Samuel Paty, this fund, initially endowed with 2.5 million euros, aimed to finance associations carrying speeches promotion of the values of the Republic to fight against separatism.
Sébastien Jallet was heard by the Senate inquiry committee on this controversial fund, the day after the resignation of Christian Gravel, the boss of the CIPDR (Interministerial Committee for the Prevention of Delinquency and Radicalization), an administrative structure managing this fund at within the Ministry of the Interior. This commission will also hear Marlène Schiappa next Wednesday, as well as Marlène Schiappa’s successor in government Sonia Backes.
A report by the General Inspectorate of Administration (IGA) published on Tuesday denounces the “privileged treatment” granted by Christian Gravel to the main beneficiary association, the USEPPM (Federative Union of Physical Education and Military Preparation Societies). “The USEPPM project is not a project that the firm and I went looking for,” assured Sébastien Jallet, saying that he had arrived at the CIPDR. Mohamed Sifaoui, one of the two USEPPM officials, had nevertheless assured in April that he had been encouraged to apply “by the members of Marlène Schiappa’s cabinet and by herself”. “I did not take this initiative spontaneously,” wrote the one who will be auditioning next Tuesday.
In its report, the IGA also considers that the call for projects of the CIPDR, on April 20, “was neither transparent nor fair”. Sébastien Jallet countered that it is “fair” because all the candidates, according to him, had “their requests appreciated”, adding that the 20-day deadline to respond to them was “not untenable”. Sébastien Jallet also considered that the Marianne fund was “a project which, once past the impulse and validation phase, essentially fell under administrative missions”.
The project selection committee, in which Marlène Schiappa did not participate, “has essentially validated the proposals made by the administration”, he assured, conceding that a file subsequently received a “adverse adjudication by the Minister”. The IGA noted that “all the testimonies collected indicate that the Minister Delegate withdrew from the process, once the official launch had passed” on April 20.