The Paris criminal court followed the former minister’s lawyer rather than the requisitions of the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office. The latter had requested ten months of suspended prison time and a fine of 15,000 euros against Olivier Dussopt, tried for alleged acts of favoritism during the award of the public water contract in 2009 when he was mayor of Annonay in Ardèche. The former Minister of Labor was released on Wednesday, as requested by his lawyer.
According to the court, “no inside information” was provided by Olivier Dussopt to the water supply and treatment group Saur during a call for tenders in his municipality.
Compliant assessment criteria
The court also rejected the accusations of the PNF, which suspected the former minister of having modified the evaluation criteria of this call for tenders – relating to a contract worth 5.6 million euros – by reducing the importance given to price. A maneuver intended to favor Saur, which has held a public service delegation to manage the town’s water since 1994, but is more expensive than competing companies. The evaluation criteria of the call for tenders were “in accordance with the public procurement code”, the court ruled.
The former member of the government said he was “happy that his innocence was recognized and that justice was done to him”, believing that the court “after very detailed and precise reasoning” considered “that no offense was committed”. committed”.
Olivier Brousse, former general director of Saur (Urban and Rural Development Company), who was prosecuted for complicity in favoritism, was also released. Saur, prosecuted for concealment of favoritism, was also cleared.