A veritable war of nerves, the Anticor saga seems to stretch on forever. On Wednesday, September 4, the Paris administrative court issued a new decision in favor of the anti-corruption association. The association is trying in vain to recover its approval from the government, a key that allowed it between 2015 and 2023 to constitute itself a civil party, particularly in the event of inaction by the public prosecutor, in cases involving attacks on probity.
In its interim order, the administrative court ordered the resigning Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, to “review the application for approval submitted” in January by Anticor “within twenty-four hours”, “under penalty of 1,000 euros per day of delay upon expiry of this period”. He orders Matignon to take a position and to justify its decision.
The same court had already ordered the Prime Minister to do so in a summary judgment of 9 August. Although he was supposed to decide this question within a period of fifteen days, Gabriel Attal did not do so.
Strategy of silence
“The failure of the government of the French Republic to comply with a court decision is serious and worrying.reacts Paul Cassia, president of Anticor. The Prime Minister got himself entangled in a series of illegalities, because he made the mistake of making the approval of Anticor a political issue, while anti-corruption approval is an administrative and technical procedure, which consists of verifying whether or not the association meets the legal criteria for approval.
“The administrative court punishes the culpable resistance of the Government, adds Vincent Brengarth, Anticor’s lawyer. It is unthinkable that he would prefer to expose himself to the payment of a penalty rather than respond to Anticor’s request. This choice is symptomatic of the political malaise surrounding this issue.”
Read the decryption (2023): Anticor: understanding the reasons for non-renewal of approval and its consequences
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Requested by The WorldGabriel Attal’s office did not follow up. Since Anticor lost its approval, following a judgment by the administrative court in June 2023, confirmed in November, the government has adopted a strategy of silence.
In December 2023, when Elisabeth Borne was leaving Matignon, the executive had not responded to the request for approval made by Anticor, which was equivalent to an implicit refusal. Bis repetita in July 2024 with Gabriel Attal.
Empty chair strategy
Before the administrative court, the resigning government opted for the empty chair strategy: the resigning general secretariat of the government (SGG) was absent from the hearing on Wednesday. In a letter sent to the president of the court on Monday, he explained that the “The Prime Minister has duly acknowledged the order issued by the interim relief judges on 9 August and confirms that the executive naturally intends to comply with this judicial decision”. “Given the imminent appointment of a new government, the court is however requested not to issue the requested penalty payment”, he claimed. In vain.
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