At 76 years old, Patrick Balkany sent a request to the courts on October 25 to have his ineligibility sentence annulled. His goal? Run for mayor of Levallois-Perret in 2026.
Back to the future. According to information from BFMTV, Patrick Balkany recently took legal action to have the ineligibility sentence to which he was sentenced in 2019 annulled. He therefore wishes to be able to run in the 2026 municipal elections in his stronghold of Levallois-Perret ( Hauts-de-Seine).
“This is a request, filed on October 25, to obtain what is called an increase in his additional penalty of ineligibility,” confirms a judicial source.
Definitively found guilty of tax fraud and money laundering with his wife, Isabelle, for having concealed from the tax authorities assets valued at 13 million euros, notably in two villas in the Caribbean and Morocco, Patrick Balkany was sentenced to four and a half years in prison. prison sentence and an additional sentence of ten years of ineligibility.
“It was already five years ago. I was in prison for almost a year and I wore an electronic bracelet. And with Isabelle, we repay 1,300 euros to the tax authorities every month. So, yes, I asked that the penalty of ineligibility stops to be able to represent me”, confirms the main person concerned.
Considering that retirement is “the antechamber of death”, he says today he returns to Levallois-Perret “every two days” on average. “I can't walk ten meters without people stopping me: 'We miss you, Mr. Mayor! When are you coming back?' The residents, but also the municipal agents…”, he says.
His request has nothing to do with the requisitions at the trial of Marine Le Pen
In the midst of legal turmoil in the run-up to the 2020 municipal elections, he finally abandoned the mayor's chair, held for more than 30 years, and designated Agnès Pottier-Dumas as his most natural successor. Former general director of city services, she won in the second round with nearly 46% of the votes in a triangular election. But at 76 years old today, Patrick Balkany regrets having knighted her and wishes to take her place again. “People need more human contact. We'll see what all this leads to. But my team is already ready to follow…”
Transmitted in October to the National Financial Prosecutor's Office, its request therefore has nothing to do with the ineligibility requisitions made, on November 13, at the trial of Marine Le Pen and the ex-executives of the National Front tried since September 30 for embezzlement. of public funds. But this close friend of Nicolas Sarkozy obviously followed the political and legal debates relating to the fate of the leader of the RN deputies. “The magistrates always judge 'in the name of the French people'”, recalls Patrick Balkany. “Well, I think they should stop. It's up to the voters to decide who their representatives are.”
But it is up to the judges to rule on his request. Transmitted to the National Financial Prosecutor's Office, it will be the subject of a “study” before a closed-door hearing in the coming weeks. Patrick Balkany will obviously be summoned to plead his case. Before trying to seduce the voters of Levallois, it will already be necessary to convince the magistrates.
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