Didier Guillaume

After leaving government on 6 July 2020, Didier Guillaume founded SASU Vanige Consultants on 20 November 2020 and, according to the HATVP decision, began providing consultancy services to several clients from 1 January 2021. He only referred the matter to the High Authority on 23 July 2021, although the law requires former government members to make the referral before starting an activity during the scrutiny period.

State of the evidence

Documented

At the 2019 agricultural fair, Didier Guillaume signed a preamble on behalf of the state to the 'solutions contract' promoted by FNSEA and other stakeholders to reduce plant protection products. NGOs and critics saw this as excessively delegating agricultural transition to the dominant union and stakeholders connected with pesticides.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Attribution

Political responsibility

Responsible for implementing the EGalim Law passed shortly before he became minister, Didier Guillaume acknowledged after several months that expected improvements in farmers' remuneration had not materialised in many sectors. The Senate and professional organisations also gave very critical assessments of the law's initial effects.

State of the evidence

Admitted by the person

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Didier Guillaume said he was 'strongly opposed' to 'a month without alcohol', describing it as a communications exercise and prohibitionist thinking. The official campaign envisaged for January 2020 was ultimately not sponsored by the government, fuelling allegations of influence by wine and alcohol producers.

State of the evidence

Allegations

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Didier Guillaume announced his intention to lead a list in Biarritz while remaining minister, although Secretary of State Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne appeared on a rival list. The unprecedented and embarrassing situation for the executive led Emmanuel Macron to ask both ministers to withdraw from the local contest.

State of the evidence

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Political responsibility

Didier Guillaume presented fifteen measures to improve animal protection, including plans to end the grinding of male chicks and surgical castration of piglets without anaesthesia. Associations and specialists nevertheless condemned an overly fragmented plan that inadequately addressed several intensive farming and slaughter practices.

State of the evidence

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Not applicable

Attribution

Political responsibility

After L214 released footage filmed at the Sobeval slaughterhouse, the association accused the ministry of downplaying non-compliance, although internal exchanges referred to serious shortcomings. Questioned by a France 5 journalist about this contradiction, Didier Guillaume grabbed and pulled away the journalist's microphone, an incident filmed and widely discussed. Days later, the minister temporarily suspended the slaughterhouse's operations.

State of the evidence

Disputed

Attribution

Political responsibility

At the beginning of lockdown, faced with shortages of seasonal workers due to border closures, Didier Guillaume urged people without work to join the 'great army of agriculture' and referred to a need for approximately 200,000 workers. The call caused surprise when the government was instructing people to remain at home, raising questions about travel and health safety.

State of the evidence

Documented

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Attribution

Political responsibility

Although a land law was expected to better regulate access to agricultural land and facilitate generational renewal, Didier Guillaume announced in June 2020 that it would not be passed before the end of the presidential term 'for lack of time'. The decision disappointed parts of the agricultural community and land policy stakeholders.

State of the evidence

Documented

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Not applicable

Attribution

Political responsibility

As a senator and then Agriculture Minister, Didier Guillaume advocated stronger protection for livestock farmers against wolf attacks, calling for more opportunities to defend herds and supporting more flexible management of culling.

State of the evidence

Documented

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Not applicable

Attribution

Directly implicated

Didier Guillaume stated that 'wine is not an alcoholic drink like any other' and contrasted wine consumption with episodes of rapid heavy drinking. The statement sparked scientific and public health controversy, with experts pointing out that ethanol is the same substance and that risk depends particularly on the amount consumed.

State of the evidence

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Not applicable

Attribution

Personally implicated

Didier Guillaume referred to crop rotation, cover crops and agronomic methods for reducing pesticides and called for a return to some practices of 'our grandparents' farming'. The phrase generated negative publicity and was considered oversimplified, including by farming representatives.

State of the evidence

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Attribution

Personally implicated

During the CETA debate, the government initially claimed that no beef from cattle fed animal meal could enter Europe, a presentation Le Monde found inaccurate in light of Canadian and European rules. Guillaume also claimed that 60 tonnes of Canadian beef were imported out of '1.5 million' tonnes, a figure corresponding to total French consumption rather than imports alone.

Legal status — source text

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Attribution

Shared responsibility

Didier Guillaume claimed that France was 'the first government in the world' to seek to eliminate glyphosate. Le Monde's Les Décodeurs recalled that several countries or authorities had already adopted or announced bans or phase-outs before France, rendering the claim of being first false.

Legal status — source text

Not applicable

Attribution

Personally implicated

Didier Guillaume, Agriculture Minister whose responsibilities included animal welfare, attended a bullfight in Bayonne with Jacqueline Gourault. Animal welfare organisations condemned a contradiction between his attendance and ministerial responsibilities.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated

Faced with increasing municipal orders imposing spraying distances or banning certain pesticides, Didier Guillaume claimed that they were 'purely political point-scoring' and emphasised the proximity of local elections. The remark caused controversy among mayors and supporters of local restrictions.

State of the evidence

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Personally implicated

Shortly after becoming minister, Didier Guillaume said of pesticides that 'science must prove' their consequences and referred to the lack of certainty about a link with cases of babies born without arms. The wording was strongly criticised as reversing the precautionary principle and minimising health risks.

State of the evidence

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Personally implicated

A further Regional Audit Chamber review found that the department's social policy plans contained too few quantified objectives and outcome indicators, while no precise annual or multiyear targets comprehensively governed social expenditure.

State of the evidence

Documented

After François Hollande decided not to seek re-election, Didier Guillaume, until then regarded as close to the President, became Manuel Valls's campaign manager for the Socialist primary. This repositioning took place amid a severe deterioration in relations between Hollande and Valls and drew criticism from some Hollande supporters.

State of the evidence

Documented

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Not applicable

Attribution

Directly implicated

Following Benoît Hamon's victory in the primary, Didier Guillaume initially indicated that he would respect the result and give him his nomination signature. On 16 March, however, he announced that he would not endorse anyone, citing Hamon's alliance with the environmentalists and a political direction he considered different from that of the primary.

State of the evidence

Documented

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Attribution

Directly implicated

As chairman of the Socialist group in the Senate, Didier Guillaume declared that he wanted to support Emmanuel Macron, his majority and government. This so-called constructive approach divided Socialist senators between cooperation with the new administration and more determined opposition. He was subsequently re-elected group leader by a narrow majority.

State of the evidence

Documented

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Not applicable

Responding to Court of Auditors criticism of the budgetary situation left by the previous government, Didier Guillaume rejected the term 'insincere' budget and stated that it was sometimes necessary to 'slightly overestimate revenue and underestimate expenditure' to balance a budget. The remark sparked fierce controversy over budgetary integrity.

State of the evidence

Documented

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Not applicable

Attribution

Personally implicated

During Didier Guillaume's presidency, the Regional Audit Chamber examined departmental waste prevention and management policy. It identified the need to revise the plan, difficulties with its scope and shortcomings in monitoring and evaluation.

State of the evidence

Documented

The Regional Audit Chamber identified significant overpayments in Drôme's administration of the RMI and subsequently RSA, insufficiently structured prevention of undue payments, incomplete data and an inadequate understanding of policy costs. Overpayments cited for 2008 amounted to approximately €1.78 million.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Shared responsibility