Pierre Moscovici delays the publication of an immigration report and triggers a controversy

POLICY – “It’s a decision that I took personally and which I take full responsibility for.” This Friday, January 5 in the evening, the first president of the Court of Auditors, Pierre Moscovici, explained on LCI why he had taken the initiative to postpone the release of the institution’s report on immigration by a few days. A document published the day before, which points to the absence of “ global strategy » in the policies implemented and the ineffectiveness of the OQTFs, of which only 12% actually result in removal measures.

This policy ” deficient » has a cost, estimated at 1.8 billion euros annually by the Court of Auditors. In addition to the content of this report, from which each political group draws what suits them, it is the postponement decided by the first president of the institution which provoked an avalanche of indignant reactions this Saturday, January 6. The reason ? Pierre Moscovici’s desire not to add fuel to the fire of the debates on the immigration law, which was setting Parliament ablaze.

On LCI, Pierre Moscovici explained that the release of the report was scheduled for December 13. “ It happened to be two days after the vote on the motion to reject the immigration law. I don’t know if you imagine a report coming out at that time, and three days before the Joint Commission, but what would we have said? », questioned the former minister of François Hollande, judging that the “ political crisis » provoked by the examination of the text did not allow the Court of Auditors to present its work calmly.

The opposition denounces “a delusional admission”

According to him, the institution would have been accused of violating the separation of powers, of interfering in the work of Parliament or even of expressing a “ undue political position “. So many trials of intent that he says he wanted to avoid by postponing the publication of the report by a few days. The problem is that today it is this postponement which is seen as a political decision aimed at protecting the government, at a time when the examination of the bill was turning into a pitched battle.

“ This admission from Pierre Moscovici is absolutely delusional. He deliberately withheld vital information capable of enlightening Parliament. This is an unjustifiable mistake. That of technocracy against the Representatives of the People. Our democracy is in a state of disrepair,” lamented on the social network the deputy LR Aurélien Pradié. “ This is a serious breach of our democracy and of the most basic constitutional obligations imposed on the Court of Auditors. Its first president must resign », Added the LR president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region Laurent Wauquiez.

The decision of the first president of the Court of Auditors also provoked the ire of the National Rally, the RN deputy for Gard Nicolas Meizonnet denouncing a postponement “ unacceptable “. Criticisms also formulated by France insoumise which makes another reading of the report. “ These are absolutely incredible comments made by the President of the Court of Auditors. He decided to keep hidden information that could be of public utility in the context of the debate on the Immigration Law. This is not normal! “, denounced LFI deputy Antoine Léaument, when his colleague Thomas Portes denounces “ shenanigans from another age “.

Could Moscovici delay publication?

But then, did Pierre Moscovici really make a mistake? For the Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt, not necessarily, since the Court of Auditors is an independent authority which alone chooses the way in which it makes its work public. “ I don’t see who can put pressure on the president of the Court of Auditors “, he explained this Sunday January 7 on Europe 1.

The fact remains that article 47-2 of the Constitution gives food for thought to the detractors of Pierre Moscovici since it is stated that “ The Court of Auditors assists Parliament in monitoring Government action » and that she « assists Parliament and the Government in monitoring the execution of finance laws and the application of social security financing laws as well as in the evaluation of public policies “.

However, the rules of the institution are clear: “ Freedom in the choice of controls is accompanied (…) by the freedom to adopt their conclusions as well as the editorial freedom of their publications », we can read on the website of the Court of Auditors. In other words: the decision to postpone the publication of the said report in no way contravenes the power entrusted to the first president of the Court of Auditors. Even if, from a strictly political point of view, the decision is likely to raise questions.

A member of the Court of Auditors regrets a “telescoping”

Nearby HuffPosta magistrate of the Court of Auditors judges these criticisms “ unfair “. According to him, ” the timetable for the report was decided independently of the legislative timetable, in a context where the presentation of the bill has continued to be postponed by the executive.” And to insist: “it was the legislative agenda that slipped, not ours.”

It is this collision which led the Court to review its plans at the last moment. And rightly so, for our interlocutor. “ The wave of criticism would have been much worse if the report had been published between the rejection motion and the CMP, since the debate was over. We would have been told: “what are they involved in” and “why now” ? “. According to this magistrate, the best formula would have been a publication two or three weeks before the examination of the text, even if the institution worked for months independently of the examination (possible or actual) of the immigration bill. “ This is why these criticisms are unfair, especially since it was Pierre Moscovici who established the objective 100% published »regrets our source again.

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