Finally the outcome of the “summit dinner” soap opera? In any case, there is no longer any recourse possible for Laurent Wauquiez (LR) in this matter. On December 30, 2024, the Council of State rejected the appeal from the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, which contested a request from the opposition to provide the list of guests at these feasts organized by the former president of the Region at the expense of the taxpayer.
According to a document consulted by Rue89Lyon and revealed by the Tribune de Lyon, the highest administrative court simply recognized that the Region’s appeal “was not admitted”.
The former president of the Region, now deputy for Haute-Loire, organized several business dinners in 2022 bringing together hand-picked economic and sporting figures. The second meal, in June, caused controversy after the revelations from our partner Mediapart. Nicknamed “summit dinner”, the event was financed by public money, for a total cost of nearly 150,000 euros, including consulting fees.
Summit dinner: the Council of State validates the first instance judgment
Opposition elected officials suspected Laurent Wauquiez of having organized this dinner for his sole political benefit, and not to promote the Region. This is also what the regional Chamber of Accounts supports, which singled out the Region on this subject in a report which leaked last August:
“The summit dinners were organized in less than transparent conditions and with the main aim of promoting the personal image of the president of the regional council [seul élu présent, Ndlr]for a total cost of €178,428”.
The opposition had been trying for several years to obtain the complete list of guests, which was finally leaked in Lyonmag on July 22.
On May 21, 2024, the Lyon administrative court ordered the Region to communicate the list of guests within 15 days, and Laurent Wauquiez appealed to the Council of State. The court therefore decided to reject the Region’s appeal, therefore validating the court’s initial decision.
The Region now has 15 days to provide only the list of guests for the “summit dinner” on June 23, 2022. On the other hand, the opposition has not completely won its case. The court considered that the ongoing national financial prosecutor’s procedure on the “summit dinner” justified certain requested documents remaining confidential.
Oppositions want to shed light on summit dinners
“It’s a first victory,” said socialist regional councilor Johann Cesa, contacted by telephone, “so that light can finally be shed on this affair. » The elected official, who carried out the administrative procedure, is not sure whether Laurent Wauquiez or Fabrice Pannekoucke, the new president, will provide this list, but he will not ask the court for a financial penalty for each day of delay, “because it would still be public money used in this affair. »
The vice-president of the Socialist, Ecologist and Democrat group nevertheless hopes to shed light on all the documents concerning the “summit dinner”, currently in the hands of the national financial prosecutor’s office.
“The leaked texts showed what public money was used for, we would like to have access to all the documents to know all the expenditure. From the moment we use public money, there must be an administrative document on this subject,” concludes the vice-president of the group.
