A case that would have gone well for the executive in full COP 27. Agnès Pannier-Runacher, head of the Ministry of Energy Transition, shares interests with one of the main French oil companies, according to a survey of Reveal Y research europe published this Tuesday.
“The minister must go and explain herself,” RN deputy Sébastien Chenu told France info on Wednesday.
Funds in tax havens
“If everything goes well, if everything is in order, continue with your activity: we will continue fighting against what you are carrying out as a policy. On the other hand, if you have failed to fulfill your obligations, the consequences will have to be drawn.” ., neither more nor less”, the vice president of the National Assembly also advanced.
Jean-Michel Runacher, father of the minister and close to Emmanuel Macron, has created a company called Arjunem and endowed with 1.2 million euros, for his grandchildren, according to information from our colleagues. Agnès Pannier-Runacher’s three minor children and one of her cousins are shareholders along with the patriarch.
For the former general director and financial director of the oil company Perenco, number 2 in oil in France, the maneuver was intended to transfer part of his assets without having to pay inheritance expenses. According to Disclose, this wealth comes from hedge funds, installed in tax havens such as Delaware, Ireland and Guernsey.
“Conflict of interest” for Roussel
Fabien Roussel, for his part, issued a harsh judgment, describing the events as “serious” and calling on the minister to “an exercise in transparency.”
“There is a fiscal optimization, there is a conflict of interest. It is not a storm in a glass of water,” said the PCF chief on the set of France 2.
“The difference between tax optimization and tax evasion is the thickness of a prison wall,” said the former presidential candidate.
Bruno Retailleau, the head of the LR senators and candidate for the presidency of the right-wing party, was much less offensive, saying “wait to see the results of the investigation” on Sud Radio.
“Nothing illegal”, answers Véran
The executive currently supports the minister, considered one of the pillars of macronie in the fight against global warming.
“He had the opportunity to express himself clearly in response to parliamentarians in the hemicycle … explaining that there was nothing illegal and that there was no reason to see a conflict of interest there,” said Olivier Véran, the government spokesman. in France info.
“False allegations,” says Pannier-Runacher
Interrogated three times by deputies on Tuesday, she was able to explain herself during current questions to the government, citing “false and slanderous accusations.”
“Obviously I have complied with the declaration obligations provided for by law, in particular with the HATVP, which expressly establishes that declarations of assets do not refer to the assets of children, including minors,” he argued.
Same story on the side of Elisabeth Borne who, for her part, defended before the deputies that “her role” was “not to comment on press articles.”
new revelations
The HATVP opened an investigation into the minister on Tuesday following the publication of this investigation. This Wednesday morning new information was added. The online media Politico revealed that the minister lived in a house belonging to the heirs of deputy Olivier Dassault.
Died in 2021, the son of Serge Dassault was heir to one of the great French industrial fortunes. Problem: Agnès Pannier-Runacher was then Minister Delegate for Industry.
“Agnès Pannier-Runacher moved in with her new partner in Lens (former Socialist MP Nicolas Bays editor’s note) in May 2021, who had occupied this property since 2017. She had no knowledge of the owner of the house, she only knew that her partner rents paid every month”, said the minister’s entourage to our colleagues.
Source: BFM TV
