Gérald Darmanin proposed this Tuesday to quickly entrust the State with the enveloping and distribution of electoral propaganda, so that this applies for the presidential election of 2022 and avoid new dysfunctions.
Assailed with questions on this subject to the National Assembly, the Minister of the Interior explained that he had “proposed to the Prime Minister” that he seize “the Parliament” to modify the law so that this distribution of electoral documents is “Re-internalized”, that is to say entrusted to the State. “We should do it soon enough for the presidential election,” he said.
Excuses
Promising that he would examine “with acuity and responsibility the pursuit of the market” of electoral distribution, Gérald Darmanin explained why this call for tenders had been awarded to La Poste and Adrexo. He recalled that a European directive in 1997, revised in 2002, had opened the postal service to competition.
The directive had been transposed in France by a law of 2005. “Until 2010, only La Poste had won the tender”. Then, Arcep (independent authority responsible for the proper functioning of the postal service in particular) had “validated two companies”, La Poste and Adrexo.
“Really serious and worrying dysfunctions”
However, “the Minister is obliged to make competitive lots” by having in the running only two companies, justified Gérald Darmanin. At the start of the questioning session to the government, the minister immediately “presented and apologized to the French who did not receive the electoral propaganda” for the 1st and 2nd rounds of the regional and departmental elections.
“There were really serious and worrying dysfunctions,” admitted Prime Minister Jean Castex, responding to the president of the PS group Valérie Rabault. “This is the first time that there has been such a fiasco (…) you owe us an explanation,” exclaimed Valérie Rabault. Last week, the Senate announced the establishment of a commission of inquiry into these dysfunctions.