The Elysée Palace, Paris, April 8, 2026. JULIEN MUGUET FOR LE MONDE
French judges ordered searches on Tuesday morning, April 14, as part of a formal probe by Paris's financial crimes unit into Elysée Palace memorial ceremonies, Le Monde learned from a judicial source, also reported by Le Canard Enchaîné weekly newspaper. The investigation, led by two judges, targets several contracts awarded to Shortcut Events, which has organized major events for the French presidency in recent years.
Investigators from the Paris police's Financial and Anti-Corruption Brigade targeted the Elysée Palace, France's National Monuments Center (CMN), responsible for awarding the contracts, and the company's offices. "However, access to the Elysée's offices was not authorized, and the investigating judges were presented with an analysis according to which Article 67 of the Constitution renders premises attached to the presidency of the Republic inviolable," the National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) said in a statement. Implicated individuals' homes were also targeted.
Le Monde has learned that the investigation was launched following an anonymous tip to the PNF in late 2023. It is seeking to determine whether Shortcut Events received preferential treatment from Elysée advisers and the CMN in contract awards. The inquiry, focusing on potential "favoritism, unlawful conflict of interest, corruption and influence peddling," according to the PNF, was assigned to the two investigating judges on October 2.
