In Paris, elected officials find it difficult to put into practice the principles of transparency displayed by the Town Hall. In July 2020, just after the municipal elections, the 163 councilors elected or re-elected had all committed in writing to complete a declaration of interests intended to be made public. A gesture imposed since 2014 at the request of the socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo. “On a voluntary basis”, it was also proposed to elected officials to sign a declaration of assets.
Nine months later, the results are out of step with the good intentions displayed. First, some elected officials were slow to provide their declaration of interests, expected in principle before the end of 2020. “The good news is that we finally obtained, eight days ago, all the declarations”, rejoices Yves Charpenel, the senior magistrate who chairs the ethics committee of elected officials of the Council of Paris. The municipal councilors detail their professional activities, the associated remuneration, their mandates and participations in companies, as well as the activities of their spouses. As for asset declarations, where each person’s assets are specified (bank accounts, life insurance, real estate, etc.), 68% of elected officials agreed to submit one, whereas they were only 58% at the time. of the previous term.
Statements already online reveal that Anne Hidalgo owns a 118 m house2 in the 15e district, to discover the sums received by Audrey Pulvar for the ceremonies she hosted (up to 13,000 euros for the award of the Michelin guide), to anticipate possible conflicts of interest linked to the activities of the spouses …
“We have closely studied all these declarations, and issued opinions with reservations in 12% of cases, specifies the chairman of the ethics committee. Most of the time, our proposals solved the problems. For example, we have encouraged certain elected officials who work in the private sector to specify in their contracts that they cannot be mobilized on a subject related to the City of Paris. There are one or two cases left to settle. “
“Exhibition or voyeurism”
But if the documents eventually arrive at City Hall, and get sifted through there, not all of them will be online, far from it. Forty of the 163 elected officials in Paris are opposed to their declarations of interest being published on the Town Hall website. Or one in four elected! During the previous term of office, only three refusals had been recorded.
You have 53.44% of this article to read. The rest is for subscribers only.
–
