Prosecutors investigate consulting firms political influence on France

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The French National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) has launched a preliminary investigation following a Senate report on the influence of international private consulting firms on the country's public policy, a press statement released on Wednesday confirmed.

"The National Financial Prosecutor's Office on Thursday, March 31, 2022, opened a preliminary [investigation] on money-laundering aggravated by tax fraud,” the Prosecutor's Office said in a statement, aired by BFMTV.

McKinsey paid no taxes between 2011 and 2020

The French Senate on March 17 published the results of an investigation into the increased influence of foreign consulting firms on public policy.

Among the firms is the American company McKinsey, which, in particular, advised the French government on the vaccination campaign.

According to the senators, the firm paid no taxes between 2011 and 2020.

On April 1, far-right presidential candidate Eric Zemmour accused McKinsey of working illegally for current French President Emmanuel Macron during his 2017 presidential campaign.

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

Consultations on housing reform and asylum policy

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.

The first round of the French presidential election will be held on April 10 and the second on April 24.