Pierre-Édouard Stérin in the sights of justice for illegal financing of RN candidates since 2020
Revealed by Le Monde , the information refers to the still little-known prehistory of the Pericles plan put in place by the Catholic identity billionaire Pierre-Édouard Stérin. Even before putting 150 million euros on the table over the next ten years to help the extreme right win in France and concretely establishing an agreement to allow the extreme to "absolutely" win more than 300 cities in 2026 , its architect and financier is suspected of having contributed directly to several RN candidate campaigns during seven major elections.
In 2020 and 2021, at least the municipal elections in Marseille, Nice and Lyon were affected, then the regional elections in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Occitanie, Normandy and Centre-Val de Loire.
Targeted by a preliminary investigation for illegal political financing, Stérin was, according to our colleagues, questioned on June 11, 2024 under the status of free suspect, in the presence of his lawyer and without the disadvantages of police custody. In Le Monde , the tax exile in Belgium, who last May refused to appear when summoned before the parliamentary commission of inquiry into the organization of the elections , claims to have "been able on this occasion to provide answers to the questions" that were put to him.
At issue in this affair is a system of cascading loans, resulting in "socks" of the billionaire, which would have benefited, first and foremost, figures such as Stéphane Ravier, head of the RN list in Marseille, Philippe Vardon in Nice, Agnès Marion in the Rhône and Thierry Mariani in Paca.
According to the daily, the investigation did not demonstrate a strategy led by the RN, but rather " coordination at the level of Pierre-Édouard Stérin and his network towards friendly candidates." Also according to Le Monde, the justice system is questioning in particular the central role of a director of the Institute of Social, Economic and Political Sciences (ISSEP), the school founded by Marion Maréchal.
It's step by step, argument against argument, that we must fight the far right. And that's what we do every day in L'Humanité.
In the face of relentless attacks from racists and hatemongers: support us! Together, let's make another voice heard in this increasingly nauseating public debate. I want to know more.
L'Humanité
