Management of the Digital City of Le Havre: a whistleblower requests that an investigating judge be involved in the investigation targeting Édouard Philippe

She accuses the mayor, a former prime minister and 2027 presidential candidate, of favoritism, misappropriation of public funds, and moral harassment, according to France Inter, AFP, and Le Monde. These charges have been the subject of an 18-month investigation.

A whistleblower is calling for an investigating judge to be appointed in the investigation into the management of the Le Havre Digital City between 2020 and 2022, France Inter, AFP, and Le Monde revealed Monday, June 23. Judith (name changed as she wishes to remain anonymous) has filed a civil action complaint. She is targeting Mayor Édouard Philippe, in particular, for favoritism, misappropriation of public funds, and moral harassment.

The facts reported, which concern the management of the Digital City of Le Havre, have been the subject of a preliminary investigation by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office for 18 months, but Judith, who is speaking here for the first time, would like it to move forward more quickly. She was recruited in September 2020 at the urban community of Le Havre. This Franco-German, a graduate of the ENA, was to oversee the Digital City project. For this project, an agreement was signed between Édouard Philippe and the president of an association, who is also his deputy. "When you have already worked in a community, you fall off your chair, there is a conflict of interest that seems absolutely obvious to me," says Judith. She finds the management opaque, the payroll very generous, compared to the activity, modest.

"It should be teeming with start-ups, entrepreneurs, training courses, and it was very, very empty... I remember for certain events, we were given orders to go and fill the rooms so that, when the journalists came by, it would be a little more crowded," she says. For two years, the association would receive more than a million euros in subsidies. Judith alerted her superiors and the elected officials. "I was convinced that Édouard Philippe had an answer and that he was going to give it to me, but I never got it," Judith continues. "I had the impression that I was telling them things that they didn't want to see, and I was constantly criticized for it."

After a sick leave, his contract was not renewed. His lawyer, Jérôme Karsenti, wants independent investigating judges to resume the investigation. "I'll be very frank, I think there's a 'Fillon syndrome' tetany at the National Financial Prosecutor's Office, and that any investigation into likely future presidential candidates poses serious difficulties," explains the lawyer. The PNF is, however, investigating other potential candidates, and assures that this one is continuing.

Contacted by France Inter on Friday, Édouard Philippe's lawyer and press officer did not respond. The Defender of Rights recognized Judith as a whistleblower. The decision was challenged by the urban community before the administrative court.