On Thursday, Paris Match released an image of a “moment of relaxation” between the UDR deputy and his parliamentary aide. Yaël Braun-Pivet has alerted the Assembly’s ethics officer over the publishing of a photo of Charles Alloncle and his putative “partner”.
For several months, he was the focus of a parliamentary probe into public broadcasting, which he initiated. But Charles Alloncle could have done without this unexpected media attention.
On Thursday evening, Paris Match published an unauthorised photo of the MP from the Union of the Right for the Republic (UDR) group on its website, accompanied by “his parliamentary assistant, Shéhérazade Khandani”. ” The two are seen in a public place during a “moment of Parisian relaxation”, according to the caption.
However, the magazine first said she was “his partner”, before amending the headline to merely say she was “a friend”. This specificity is critical since the law prevents a member of parliament from recruiting their spouse, as well as their immediate descendants, as parliamentary assistants.
This policy was enacted during the start of Emmanuel Macron’s presidency, following a campaign dominated by the Penelope Fillon scandal, in which her husband paid her for years with his parliamentary budget.
Yaël Braun-Pivet, president (Renaissance) of the National Assembly, contacted the ethics officer of the Palais Bourbon on Friday to check whether Charles Alloncle employed his partner as a parliamentary assistant, as revealed by Le Parisien and confirmed to Le Figaro by Yaël Braun-Pivet’s entourage.
When approached, Charles Alloncle did not answer. The UDR, led by Éric Ciotti, contends that he is “neither married, nor in a civil partnership, nor cohabiting” with his parliamentary aide, meaning that the MP is not violating the law. “Charles is very calm regarding the referral to the National Assembly’s ethics officer,” claims one party official. Another responds angrily: “We still need to figure out where these photos came from.” “I don’t see any paparazzi following Charles Alloncle.”
