PARIS — France’s prime protocol chief was fired this week inside hours of taking workplace over previous wrongdoing, drawing ire from the diplomatic corps amid questions over the vetting process on the French overseas affairs ministry.
Philippe Casenave was briefly state protocol director, a discreet however key place within the French diplomatic equipment with tasks that embrace overseeing official visits from overseas leaders hosted by the French presidency and the prime minister’s workplace.
Casenave took workplace Tuesday morning however was dismissed within the afternoon over the alleged misuse of state property whereas he was France’s basic consul in Marrakesh, Morocco, from 2017 to 2021, three French diplomats instructed POLITICO. The diplomats have been granted anonymity as they weren’t licensed to talk publicly on the matter.
According to inside paperwork obtained by POLITICO, an investigation by France’s overseas affairs ministry in 2021 revealed that Casenave lent his official residence, a spacious home with a big backyard and a swimming pool, to a decorator who was described as “a friend.”
“[The friend] used the residence as his own home, received friends on the weekends and used the silverware and the dinner service with the insignia of the [French] Republic,” the report stated. The inside investigation additionally said that the consul’s buddy additionally obtained “young people, presumably prostitutes” on an everyday foundation, within the absence of the consul.
“All of this revealed a clear ethical lapse, an abuse that very probably tarnished the reputation of the general consul in Marrakesh,” it provides.
The determination to nominate Casenave to the distinguished submit of state protocol director in April has raised questions in regards to the efficacy of the vetting process at France’s overseas affairs ministry.
One of the three diplomats who spoke to POLITICO shared considerations that “the services likely to have [the right information] in their drawers” weren’t consulted for such an necessary nomination.
“It’s going to confirm the president’s idea that his [diplomatic] service is really useless,” he added, on the subject of previous tough relations between President Emmanuel Macron and French diplomats.
“It’s stupefying that there was no screening before the nomination,” stated one other senior French diplomat. “The report is scathing, where are the sanctions?” he added.
The French ministry of overseas affairs was contacted about vetting processes and potential sanctions in opposition to Casenave, however didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
