(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) PARIS, March 21 (KUNA) -- France's Interior Minister Bruno Le Roux is currently coming under scrutiny amid questions surrounding the hiring of his two daughters to work as parliamentary assistants for a number of periods over several years when he was an elected official.
Le Roux has been summoned by Prime Minister Bernard Cazeneuve to explain revelation that he approved 24 temporary contracts for his two daughters during school holidays for a value of almost USD 60,000 over a number of years.
Le Roux told French media he was legally authorized to hire his daughters, the youngest of whom was only 15 years old, and to pay them out of public funds attributed for parliamentary assistants.
Each French Deputy gets a monthly allowance of almost USD 10,000 to pay for parliamentary staff.
The average age of parliamentary assistants in the French National Assembly is 40, but Le Roux says his daughters accomplished a number of tasks for his office during school vacation.
However, the "Quotidien" daily news service, which produced the revelations which were confirmed on several sides, also alleged that while Le Roux's daughters were employed by the Parliament, they were also taking extra school courses or doing trainings some of the time which would not have allowed them to be free to work for Le Roux.
Before becoming Interior Minister early this year, Le Rous was previously the Socialist Party "Whip" in the Parliament.
The revelations come on the heels of a judicial investigation and charges against Republican Party presidential candidate Francois Fillon, who is under "formal investigation" since March 14 for hiring his wife and children for well-paid jobs at his parliamentary office.
It is alleged that his wife did not fulfil any job or the required employment duties for Fillon when he was a Deputy over several years. It is also alleged that Fillon hired his two children at his office when he was a Senator and that the children handed over a substantial portion of their salaries directly to him.
The total amount paid to Fillon's family over several years is close to USD 1.0 million.
Fillon originally said he would withdraw from the presidential campaign should he be placed under formal investigation or charged, but he has since changed his mind, insisting he is innocent of the charges.
Nevertheless, he has dropped form first place to third place in the popularity polls and looks set to be eliminated from the French presidential election in the first round on April 23.
After the Le Roux revelations some Socialist Deputies on Tuesday told French media that any member of parliament must be beyond reproach as regards financial activities. (end) jk.ma
MENAFN2103201700710000ID1095334436
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.