Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Russian Ministry of Defense: 37 Ukrainian drones destroyed in 4 hours over regions of Russia and the Black Sea.
Sheikh Qassem: Our supporters make up more than half of Lebanon's population, and all of these people are united under the banner of protecting Lebanon, its Resistance, its people, and its integrity.
Sheikh Qassem: There will be no phased handing in of our arms. [The Israelis] must first enact the agreement before we start talking about a defensive strategy.
Sheikh Qassem: Be brave in the face of foreign pressures, and we will be by your side in this stance.
Sheikh Qassem: Stripping us of our arms is like stripping us of our very soul, and this will prompt us to show them our might.
Sheikh Qassem: We will not abandon our arms, for they gave us dignity; we will not abandon our arms, for they protect us against our enemy.
Sheikh Qassem: The US efforts we are seeing are aimed at sabotaging Lebanon and constitute a call for sedition.
Sheikh Qassem: If you truly want to establish sovereignty and work for Lebanon’s interests, then stop the aggression.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States, which is meddling in Lebanon, is not trustworthy but rather poses a danger to it.
Sheikh Qassem: The United States is preventing the weapons that protect the homeland.

McKinsey Affair troubling Macron reelection bid

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 2 Apr 2022 21:37
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

France is concerned about the "Americanization" and "privatization" of French politics as the Senate pushes against Macron for his hiring of a US consulting firm.

  • x
  • French President Emmanuel Macron
    French President Emmanuel Macron

The reelection campaign of French President Emmanuel Macron has been met with quite the obstacle as he prepares to hold his first big rally on Saturday over his affiliation with the US consulting company, McKinsey and Co.

"The McKinsey Affair" was named after a US firm hired to advise Paris on its COVID-19 vaccination campaign and other policies.

A report from the French Senate questioned the government's usage of private consultants and accused the American firm of tax dodging. Macron's rivals are using this to undermine his bid at reelection, and it is following him to his campaign stops just days before the April 10 vote, the first round of the elections.

Macron's supporters are hoping that he can overcome this obstacle during his rally in Paris as the centrist pulls ahead in the polls against his further right opponents such as Marine Le Pen and Eric Zemmour.

Critics are describing the government's step of spending some 1 billion euros on a US consulting firm as some sort of "privatization" and "Americanization" of French politics, calling on the Elysee Palace to be more transparent.

The French senate controlled by Macron's opposition had published a report last month on the use of private consulting firms, and it found that Paris' spending on such contracts had increased two-fold over the past three years, despite questionable results. The Senate also put the issue of conflict of interest on the table.

The report said McKinsey had not paid corporate profit taxes in France for over a decade, opting for a system of "tax optimization" through its parent company in the state of Delaware.

Related News

Syria welcomes US decision to lift sanctions, hosts US delegation

Trump claims Gaza war to end in weeks, despite ongoing Israeli assault

McKinsey defended its work in France and issued a statement saying it "respects French tax rules that apply to it."

McKinsey advised the French government on its COVID vaccination campaign, which did not have the greatest start but later gained ground and became of the world's most comprehensive. Macron had also used outside consultants on housing reform and asylum policy, among other measures.

The Conservative majority Senate found that spending on outside consulting was higher under former President Nicolas Sarkozy than under the current administration and that such firms made even less in France than in the UK or Germany.

Budget Minister Olivier Dussopt claimed that state spending on consultants was about 0.3% of what Paris had spent on public servants' salaries last year, accusing campaign rivals of inflating the amount it made in a bid to boost their own ratings.

Macron's rivals say the McKinsey affair gave life back to concerns that Macron and his government were beholden to private interests and out of touch with the concerns of ordinary voters.

Today, Macron is haunted by questions about the affair wherever he goes, and he is arguing that the campaign "should be about purchasing power, how to settle security problems, how to end the war [in Ukraine]," telling voters not to "make it about a false issue."

A woman who had lost her father to COVID-19 filed a lawsuit against the US firm, accusing it, alongside other consulting companies, of missing public funds when Paris hired them for advice on masks and vaccine supplies.

She and others have filed cases involving the government’s handling of the pandemic, making several accusations against the Elysee Palace.

  • United States
  • Eric Zemmour
  • COVID-19
  • Emmanuel Macron
  • Marine Le Pen
  • France

Most Read

Tom Artiom Alexandrovich, executive director of the defense division of the Israeli National Cyber Directorate, undated (Social media)

Israeli-born US prosecutor drops Israeli officer child sex crime

  • Politics
  • 19 Aug 2025
Almost instantly after the Helsinki Accords were signed, organisations sprouted to document purported violations, whose findings were fed to overseas embassies for international amplification. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Zeinab el-Hajj)

How ‘Human Rights’ became a Western weapon

  • Opinion
  • 23 Aug 2025
Israeli soldiers stand on the top of armoured vehicles parked on an area near the Israeli-Gaza border, as seen from southern Israel, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2025 (AP)

Palestinian fighters target Israeli soldiers, vehicles in Gaza

  • Politics
  • 21 Aug 2025
Launch of a ballistic missile from Yemen toward the occupied Palestinian territories. (YAF military media)

Yemeni Forces announce firing hypersonic missile at Al-Lydd Airport

  • Politics
  • 22 Aug 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference at the Prime minister's office in al-Quds, Occupied Palestine, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu deliberately derailing truce with Gaza occupation: Hamas

Irish President Michael Higgins arrives to deliver his speech during a 42nd World Food Day celebration at FAO headquarters in Rome, on Oct. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
Politics

Irish president renews call for UN military intervention in Gaza

US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy to Syria Tom Barrack speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at the US Embassy in Aukar, northern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, July 21, 2025 (AP)
Politics

US envoy, Netanyahu discuss restraining attacks on Lebanon, withdrawal

Smoke billows following Israeli airstrikes in multiple areas in Sanaa, Yemen, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Ansar Allah vow sustained Gaza support despite Israeli strikes

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS