Former minister Xavier Darcos was sentenced to one year in prison for illegal taking of interests, Tuesday April 2, in Paris, for having recruited a business associate as chancellor of the Institut de France without having reported their links. The former Minister of National Education (2007-2009), aged 76, was also sentenced to three years of ineligibility as part of this appearance on prior admission of guilt (CRPC), commonly called a guilty plea. .
This sentence, which takes into account the absence of a criminal record of Mr. Darcos and the "certain seriousness of the facts", recalled the prosecutor, was proposed by the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) and approved by a judge of the court from Paris.
“When I recruited David Teillet, I was not aware of the risk that this represented,” admitted the former minister of education, re-elected in December 2023 as chancellor of the Institut de France.
“I admit that I made a mistake.”
Mr. Darcos' ineligibility sentence will not apply to this new three-year term, according to the public prosecutor. “This case is old, I had a lot of difficulty getting through this period given my age and my career. I recognize that I made a mistake, I take responsibility for it,” he added.
The PNF investigation for illegal acquisition of interests, between 2017 and 2021, focused on the recruitment by Mr. Darcos of David Teillet, first as an advisor then as director of administrative services, while the two men had founded a company consulting and communications company in 2015. This company was still active when Mr. Teillet was hired. The acts, committed by a person entrusted with a public service mission, also concerned the salary increase of Mr. Teillet, the signing of a contractual termination and the payment of compensation, favored by Mr. Darcos.
“It is an administrative fault, which has been recognized and which calls into question neither his honor nor his integrity,” reacted to Agence France-Presse (AFP) the latter’s lawyers, Christophe Ingrain and Tristan Gautier. , recalling that there was “no personal enrichment” nor “financial harm to the Institut de France”.
Mr. Teillet will appear on June 26 before the Paris Criminal Court for concealment of illegal taking of interests, in the context of this case, and for misuse of corporate assets to the detriment of the consulting company, in the context of “a related matter,” a judicial source told AFP. Furthermore, the investigation opened in 2021 for “agreement and favoritism” on the conditions of a call for tenders launched by the Institut de France concerning a luxury hotel project in the area of Chantilly (Oise) was classified in spring 2023, said this source.
