Valérie Pécresse

Following pro-Palestinian occupations and demonstrations at Sciences Po Paris in April 2024, Valérie Pécresse announced the suspension of regional funding to the institution until calm and safety had been restored. Mediapart estimated the suspended funding at more than one million euros. The regional opposition denounced the decision as collective political punishment.

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Direct responsibility

The Île-de-France region maintained and subsequently renewed funding for the private Catholic school Lycée Stanislas, although a Ministry of Education report had identified dysfunctions and 'deviations', including homophobic and sexist remarks or practices. The decision attracted criticism, notably in comparison with the suspension of regional funding for Sciences Po.

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An investigation was opened following a complaint by environmentalist elected representatives implicating Valérie Pécresse in possible illegal taking of interest linked to regional decisions concerning Alstom, a company where her husband had been an executive and in which the couple had held financial interests. The complainants notably questioned regional grants.

At her Zénith rally on 13 February 2022, Valérie Pécresse used the expression 'great replacement' and the phrase 'French on paper'. The use of terminology historically associated with the far right and xenophobic theories provoked considerable controversy, including within her own political camp.

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Personally implicated

During the 2022 presidential campaign, Valérie Pécresse declared that it was necessary to 'bring out the Kärcher again', repeating a phrase by Nicolas Sarkozy that had become emblematic of debates on security and the suburbs. The manufacturer Kärcher publicly demanded an immediate end to the use of its brand in political debate, describing such uses as inappropriate.

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Personally implicated

In 2021, the Île-de-France Regional Audit Chamber considered that the region had not taken all the measures necessary to manage personal data properly and that its information systems remained below the required level of robustness and security. These criticisms attracted particular attention while Pécresse was promoting a 'smart region' strategy, artificial intelligence and facial recognition.

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After the Defender of Rights provisionally considered that banning the burkini at an Île-de-France leisure centre might constitute discrimination, Valérie Pécresse accused the institution of 'playing into the hands of radical Islamists'. The phrase sparked controversy over the authority's independence and religious freedom.

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After promising during the regional campaign to maintain the single Navigo pass at 70 euros without raising taxes, Valérie Pécresse announced a three-euro monthly increase from 1 August 2016. The reversal was criticised as a broken campaign promise.

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Direct responsibility

While standing for president of the Île-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse proposed removing the Solidarité transports discount for irregular migrants receiving State Medical Assistance. Le Monde identified several errors in the figures and descriptions of beneficiary categories used to justify this position.

State of the evidence

Documented

Attribution

Personally implicated