The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) appealed this Wednesday against the acquittal of former Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt for suspicions of favoritism in the award of the public water contract in 2009, when he was mayor of ‘Annonay (Ardèche). The financial public prosecutor, Jean-François Bohnert, “considers that this decision raises questions of law with regard to the offense of favoritism, which deserve to be submitted to the examination of the court of appeal”, indicated the PNF in a press release.
During Olivier Dussopt’s trial in November, the PNF requested a ten-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 15,000 euros against him, but the Paris Criminal Court decided to release the former minister and the two other defendants: Olivier Brousse, former general director of Saur (Urban and Rural Development Company) and Saur itself. Olivier Dussopt was tried for favoritism, Olivier Brousse for complicity in favoritism and Saur for concealment of this offense.
Contacted, Olivier Dussopt affirmed that he “will once again present his complete explanations to the court of appeal to convince it in turn and so that the acquittal and his innocence are confirmed”. “The court issued a decision based on precise and detailed reasoning. He judged that all these acts, which concern an old public procurement procedure from 2009, are in accordance with the law,” said the former minister.