French President Emmanuel Macron’s top adviser, Alexis Kohler, was facing legal action after repeatedly refusing to testify before a French parliamentary committee as it investigated the country’s public spending.
The Finance Committee, which was granted investigative powers for six months in December 2024, has been attempting to uncover why France’s national debt has exploded under Macron — with little transparency on where the money has gone.
On March 4, Éric Coquerel, chairman of the committee, announced he would take Kohler to court over his refusal to appear. The body has has been probing discrepancies and public spending issues in France’s tax and budget forecasts for the years 2023 and 2024.
“I gave Kohler one last chance to appear before our committee, as he is obliged to do so. He has just told me that this will not be the case,” Coquerel declared at a press conference.
“So I am obviously going to start proceedings today before the public prosecutor,” he added.
The left-wing lawmaker did not hold back in his criticism of Macron’s top adviser, adding: “Some will say that he may have things to hide. I’m not even sure that’s the main issue.”
“The fundamental point? It’s that these people think they are not accountable to Parliament. I would remind you that Kohler is not the President,” he said.
In his latest letter to Coquerel on March 3, Kohler claimed that “fiscal and budgetary policy falls under government authority,” emphasising that only members of the government – former ministers and prime ministers – have been called to testify so far, which he said reinforced his argument.
Kholer, who has been serving as Macron’s secretary general since 2017, also cited “scheduling conflicts” and the principle of separation of powers as reasons to avoid testifying before the parliamentary committee.
On February 14, Coquerel had argued that Kholer ‘s “interpretation of the Constitution is abusive”.
Under French Constitutional law, anyone whose appearance before a committee of enquiry has been deemed useful must comply with the summons.
Now Kohler faces serious legal consequences. Under French law, anyone who refuses to comply with a parliamentary inquiry risks two years in prison, a €7,500 fine and a ban from public office.
For many, Kholer’s refusal was baffling as Macron’s adviser had already testified twice before parliamentarians.
In 2022, he was indicted over suspicions of dubious activities via hidden family links with the main shareholders of the MSC transport group. On several occasions, he found himself in a position to make state resources available to the cruise company.
Finance Minister Antoine Armand has sounded the alarm on the French budget, warning of the “very serious situation” facing France. https://t.co/mz76DU3Tds
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 25, 2024
In 2024, the then-finance minister Bruno Le Maire and budget minister Thomas Cazenave said the public accounts deficit was likely to rise to 5.6 per cent of GDP, well above the French target of 5.1 per cent for 2024, with the possibility of further slippage if action was not taken.
Another former finance minister, Antoine Armand, had alerted France to its difficult financial situation in September 2024, saying it was the “worst deficit in history”.
Those warnings triggered alarm among opposition parties, forcing the government to confront mounting concerns over potential economic mismanagement.
France is facing “a serious slippage in public finances” over a €16 billion spending increase, ministers in the country have warned. https://t.co/sQm21v9fGK
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) September 4, 2024
