A news item necessarily embarrassing for the government of Michel Barnier. Le Parisien revealed this Friday that a Matignon employee was arrested on the evening of Thursday, November 7 in Paris, when he was in possession of a large quantity of cocaine (around 51 grams) and 1,400 euros in liquid.
The Ile-de-France daily specifies that the arrest took place shortly before 11 p.m., rue des Petites Écuries, in the 9th arrondissement of the capital. The 26-year-old individual was allegedly caught “red-handed in the middle of a transaction” by police officers from the anti-crime squad.
An accreditation badge in Matignon found at his home
The police then checked the suspect's scooter and discovered no less than “28 canisters of cocaine” inside, representing a total weight of 51 g and an estimated resale amount of 3,300 euros. Le Parisien adds that 1,400 euros in cash were found on the individual.
Before being taken to the premises of the narcotics squad for questioning, the young man was asked to provide his identity and told the police that his profession was “butler to the Prime Minister”! Investigators subsequently found a “Matignon accreditation badge” at the individual’s home, confirming his statements.
On sick leave since March 2023
According to information collected by Le Parisien, the suspect is indeed among the employees of the stewardship department of the private mansion at 57, rue de Varenne. He would have joined the team in 2022, at the time when Jean Castex held the post of Prime Minister, and was responsible for “meal management”.
The Ile-de-France daily, however, adds that the individual had been on sick leave for a long time, “since March 16, 2023”. This work stoppage would also have recently been “passed under the status of 'serious illness'” and extended until May 2025.
The investigation entrusted to the narcotics brigade
If the suspect has therefore no longer held his position with the Prime Minister for more than a year and a half, the police nevertheless noted by tracing his badge that he had gone to Matignon for the last time in last April. However, no search is planned on site.
According to Le Parisien, an investigation was opened and entrusted to the narcotics brigade, which therefore placed the individual in police custody. The Matignon employee was still in custody this Friday in the middle of the day, when the Ministers of the Interior and Justice unveiled in Marseille the government plan to fight drug trafficking, described as a “national cause”.
