François Bayrou left the courtroom of the Paris criminal court relieved on Monday. He stated to the press, “The court said (…) that there was no system, no personal enrichment.”
According to him, “It’s a seven-year nightmare that has just ended with an undisputed decision from the court.” Bayrou had been suspected of being the “main decision-maker” in a “fraudulent system” implemented between 2005 and 2017.
The president of the court, while reading the judgment, indicated that it was “very probable” that the acts of three of the defendants had been committed with “Mr. Bayrou’s permission.” However, he also stated that “there is no evidence of this authorization.”
This demonstrates that the “accusation” is “unfounded,” Bayrou insisted. He described the case as “appalling” due to its consequences and human wastage, mentioning people who have died, including his close associate Marielle de Sarnez who passed away from acute leukemia in January 2021.
Bayrou also spared a thought for eight others, including five former Euro MPs, who were sentenced to suspended prison terms ranging from 10 to 18 months, fines between 10,000 and 50,000 euros, and a two-year suspended ban from running for office. Referring to the period “on this period,” he said, “10 out of 150 contracts for European Parliamentarians are – partially – involved.”
The UDF party was fined 150,000 euros, with 100,000 to be paid immediately, and its successor MoDem sentenced to 350,000 euros, with 300,000 to be paid immediately. Bayrou concluded, “After a trial of this scale, dimension, and length in time, politics is not the most important thing.”