Toulouse: Laurence Arribagé and a former tax chief indicted
A former LR MP and the former n.2 of Public Finances in Occitanie were indicted in connection with suspicion of an attempt at electoral destabilization during the 2017 legislative elections, we learned from their lawyers on Thursday. Before the case was disoriented in Paris, the Toulouse prosecutor’s office had opened a judicial investigation on January 18, 2021, “targeting four people, suspected of having initiated a process aimed at discrediting the candidacy” for the deputation of Corinne Vignon ( LREM), in the 3rd district of Haute-Garonne, according to the Toulouse prosecutor’s office.
The election of Mme Vignon had not, however, been compromised. The case dates back to the between-rounds of the legislative elections in June 2017. The LREM candidate was then grappling with the outgoing MP, Laurence Arribagé, when a denunciation of hidden work was launched by Marc Menvielle, deputy director of public finances of the Occitanie region. He was indicted for slanderous denunciation, illegal taking of interest and violation of professional secrecy.
His lawyer, Me Thierry Carrère, contests this indictment but is satisfied that the judge “did not retain the corruption pact, which, for us, is essential”. The third accused is the deputy prosecutor of Toulouse at the material time, Patrice Michel. Joined by AFP, the magistrate has not yet been summoned by the investigating judge. The 4th respondent is a business executive in the real estate sector. Mr. Menvielle had denounced, without informing his hierarchy, without preliminary investigation, facts likely to harm Corinne Vignon, for the benefit of Laurence Arribagé, with the complicity of the magistrate, according to a source close to the investigation.
Ms. Vignon, an amateur astrologer in addition to being a salesperson, had produced three astral charts a few years earlier, for an amount of around 200 euros, without declaring them. The facts having been deemed derisory, the prosecution finally dismissed the complaint. “The instrumentalization of justice is unacceptable, a fortiori by misappropriation of the Code of Criminal Procedure,” denounced the attorney general of the Toulouse Court of Appeal in early 2021.
AFP.