Coralie Dubost, during the debate on the extension of the state of health emergency at the National Assembly in Paris, May 7, 2020. LUDOVIC MARIN / AFP The alert had been given by five of his former collaborators. The deputy of Hérault Coralie Dubost, deputy president of the group La République en Marche (LRM) in the National Assembly, was pinned for the expensive use of her advances of mandate expenses and her human management of certain collaborators, according to a survey published Friday, April 29 by Mediapart. The facts related in this investigation, which it disputes, are listed in the report of a human resources firm sent in the spring of 2021 to the ethics officer of the National Assembly, following reports from former collaborators. They accuse him of having imposed on them “tasks relating to the personal sphere”, “demeaning” remarks and behavior, but also a “conflict of values” or “ethics” in particular on the use of his advances on expenses mandates. Read also Article reserved for our subscribers In the Hérault, a deputy faced with the mistrust of “yellow vests” Purchases of lingerie, “cash advances” It is in particular a question of “monthly clothing expenses according to a range ranging from 1,500 to 2,000 euros “or” very high restaurant costs “, explains the report. According to Mediapart, Ms. Dubost, for example, spent up to 3,300 euros on clothing and accessories in October 2018, “on online sales sites such as Private Sale, Place of Trends or Private Showroom. (…) The next, the bill reached 2,500 euros, in particular from brands like Sézane or The Kooples”, specifies the online media. Asked by Mediapart, she replied that she had made these purchases as part of her mandate: “I do not put the same things in my personal life and in my mandate life”. Contacted by Agence France-Presse, the MP did not respond immediately.
In 2018, Coralie Dubost also “used more than 500 euros of public money in lingerie brands (Princess tam.tam, Darjeeling)”, relates the online media. Purchases justified by the deputy by explaining that they were “cash advances, when you need something at the last minute and you do not have your personal card on you”. Ms. Dubost, who like each deputy has a monthly advance for mandate expenses of 5,373 euros, to which is added her elected remuneration, told Mediapart that she had reimbursed expenses deemed unrelated to the exercise of the mandate of deputy – and this after a control of the ethics officer of the National Assembly for the years 2018 and 2019. “Inappropriate requests” to his collaborators The report of the HR cabinet also mentions “inappropriate requests”, such as “the regular and frequent performance of (…) tasks” unrelated to the work of a parliamentary assistant – personal purchases for the elected representative, supervision of household staff or the performance of domestic tasks. Ms. Dubost disputed these allegations. They also list requests related to his “personal purchases, bring them back or have them delivered”. “That could have happened. [mais] there was no instruction on my part, it was presented in the form of a service”, justified Coralie Dubost to Mediapart. The money order advance replaced the controversial IRFM, an envelope which was not controlled and gave rise to excesses, from the purchase of televisions to the payment of holidays, for example. At least fifteen parliamentarians or former parliamentarians were the subject of preliminary investigations for possible illicit uses of their mandate expenses envelope between 2012 and 2017. Among them are the centrist senator from Marne Yves Détraigne, the former deputy of Paris and ex-boss of the Socialist Party (PS) Jean-Christophe Cambadélis, as well as the deputy of Hauts-de-Seine and adviser to Emmanuel Macron Thierry Solère, already prosecuted in particular for “tax evasion”. The latter was thus indicted in February for “embezzlement of public funds”, for “passive influence peddling” and for breaches of reporting obligations to the High Authority for the transparency of public life. The elected official is notably suspected of having dipped into his mandate costs to pay fines, running costs or even subscriptions to organizations. Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Presidential election 2022: Thierry Solère, the black baron of Emmanuel Macron Le Monde with AFP