Dati, Valls, Darmanin… These ministers of the Bayrou government who collect judicial scandals

Formerly a champion of the fight against attacks on integrity and abuse of power, François Bayrou gives lessons that he does not apply, neither for himself, nor for his government. He aspired to compose a team of “ heavy goods vehicles » whose legal problems weigh on their credibility. Mediapart has compiled the surveys it carried out to dissect the profiles of eleven ministers.

Starting with the one who appointed them: François Bayrou, former Minister of Justice in 2017. His time at the Chancellery was short-lived. A month after his arrival at this post, he resigned because of legal suspicions in the affair of embezzlement of public funds of his party, the Modem.

Former MEPs have been sentenced to suspended prison sentences of ten to eighteen months, fines of 10,000 to 50,000 euros and two years of suspended ineligibility. The mayor of Pau was released in 2024, “ for the benefit of the doubt », after being indicted and referred to the Paris criminal court. The Paris prosecutor’s office appealed this decision, the date of the second trial has not yet been set.

The noose tightens around Rachida Dati

The current Minister of Justice, Gérald Darmanin, takes his place a few days after the verdict in the Pelicot affair. He was also accused of “ viol » and “ abuse of weakness » by two women. He benefited from a dismissal of the first rape case and for the second, the complaint was dismissed. He allegedly promised to intervene on behalf of two women, for a request for housing or for a legal conviction.

Sophie Patterson-Spatz, seeking to clear her criminal record, would have agreed to spend the evening with him in the hope that Gérald Darmanin would intervene in the legal proceedings against her. According to her, she would have felt forced to have sexual relations with Gérald Darmanin, because he had promised to act in her favor.

The Minister of Justice could be responsible for positioning himself on the law concerning the introduction of consent into the criminal definition of rape. “ He has not been convicted, but it is a moral indecency to see him representing justice », Indignant Shirley Wirden, head of the PCF’s women’s rights and feminism commission. Earlier in the year, he was implicated by Mediapart as for his role in the transfer of Neymar to PSG, while he was minister of public accounts, helping the capital club not to pay part of the taxes associated with this transaction.

The judicial noose is also tightening for Rachida Dati, returned to Culture. The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) requires a trial against the minister for ” concealment of abuse of power and breach of trust » et « corruption and influence peddling liabilities per person invested with a public elective mandate within an international organization » in the Carlos Ghosn affair, named after the former boss of the Renault-Nissan alliance. Suspicions relate to nearly 900,000 euros received by Rachida Dati between 2010 and 2012 for consulting services, while she was a lawyer and European MP.

Manuel Valls sentenced by the Spanish Court of Auditors

Alongside him, at the Overseas Ministry, Manuel Valls was condemned by the Spanish Court of Auditors. In 2018 and 2019, he set out to conquer the municipality of Barcelona, ​​which turned out to be a bitter failure. Worse, the institution controlling campaign accounts criticized him for having exceeded the authorized spending limit by 126,000 euros and for not having declared the 200,000 euros in donations received from Barcelona employers.

According to revelations from Mediapart, he would also have been part of a delegation of consultants traveling to Manama (Bahrain), from July 22 to 24. He would have pocketed 10,000 euros per day to enlighten the authorities on the issues surrounding the opening by the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) of a preliminary investigation into a case between Bahrain and Qatar.