French court rejects challenges to Najat Vallaud-Belkacem's appointment at Cour des comptes

France's Conseil d'État has dismissed legal challenges seeking to overturn the appointment of Najat Vallaud-Belkacem to the Cour des comptes. The appeals, notably brought forth by several deputies from the National Rally (RN) party, aimed to annul the decree that named the former Minister of National Education as a master counselor at the financial court. A taxpayer also filed a similar request, both of which were rejected by the institution.

The Conseil d'État determined that the signatory of the decree had received a delegation from the prime minister to issue it. This countered arguments, particularly from RN deputies, that the appointment was improperly authorized. The court further stated that holding the status of a deputy, especially a member of the National Assembly's Finance Committee, was insufficient on its own to grant standing for challenging such an appointment.

The controversy arose following a report suggesting the prime minister considered supporting Vallaud-Belkacem's appointment in exchange for her husband, Boris Vallaud, a socialist party leader, abandoning a planned censure motion against the government. Vallaud-Belkacem herself stated she secured the position through a professional recruitment process. Pierre Moscovici, president of the Cour des comptes, affirmed that her appointment was part of a collective and objective recruitment procedure in which he did not intervene.