search on the Ministry of Health as a part of a judicial investigation for “favoritism” | EUROtoday

The case regarding using consulting corporations is experiencing a brand new episode. According to our info, confirmed by a judicial supply, investigators from the Paris analysis part carried out a search on Wednesday May 29 on the headquarters of the Ministry of Health, rue de Ségur, in Paris, within the presence of investigating magistrates.

This search is carried out as a part of a judicial investigation opened on October 21, 2022 by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) for favoritism and concealment of favoritism, following a report from the senatorial fee of inquiry on affect personal consulting corporations on public insurance policies.

Made public on March 16, 2022, the work of the senatorial fee, led by Eliane Assassi (French Communist Party) and Arnaud Bazin (Les Républicains), had identified the “massive and growing recourse” by state companies to consulting corporations like Accenture, CapGemini or McKinsey: rather less than a billion euros for the 12 months 2021, or greater than double the 379 million euros spent in 2018.

The report typically criticized the “ reflex » of the increased use of these private companies to assume missions falling in principle within the competence of the public authorities, and described a “sprawling phenomenon”which raised the query of “sovereignty” of the State vis-à-vis these cupboards. He additionally famous the price of these a number of contracts: 3 million euros for the creation, by CapGemini, of a “barometer of public action results” ; 2.15 million for “support” from Roland Berger to the reform {of professional} coaching.

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A report from the Court of Auditors, unveiled by The world in December 2022, had additionally recognized extra exactly the function of those consulting corporations in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 50 million euros had been spent on their companies, notably in IT issues. If the Minister of Health on the time, Olivier Véran, had assured that all the things was “super clear and transparent”the Court was not of this opinion.

For her, many of those bills raised questions on compliance with public procurement legislation, and the well being emergency, usually invoked by the manager, couldn’t be sufficient to justify all the things – “during war, do we look at who prepares the munitions, where they do it and whether the munitions are properly transferred to the arsenal? »asked Olivier Véran, then Minister of Health, in front of the Senate, in February 2022. “The imperative of urgency was systematically invoked to award contracts within short deadlines without competitive bidding or negotiation”, regretted the Court, contemplating that, in sure circumstances, the missions entrusted to consulting corporations had been “ from the heart of public service missions » and would have “ could be taken care of by the ministry”.

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