French transport minister subject of financial probe

PARIS (Reuters) - France's national financial prosecutor has opened a preliminary probe into Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot over suspicions of misappropriation of public funds, a judicial source said on Monday.

The inquiry into Tabarot adds more pressure on Prime Minister Francois Bayrou, who is battling to get a budget through in the face of widespread parliamentary opposition.

Neither Tabarot nor officials at his ministry could be reached for comment, when contacted by Reuters.

The probe follows a report by the French High Authority for Transparency in Public Life in July 2021, the source said, confirming a report in French paper Le Monde.

The investigation concerns positions Tabarot held between 2018 and 2020 within the tourism and cultural public interest group (GIP) and in communications for the municipality of Le Cannet in southern France.

At that time, Le Cannet was run by his sister, Michele Tabarot, member of parliament for the conservative Republicans party.

A search was carried out on Nov. 30, 2022 at Philippe Tabarot's home and at the premises of Le Cannet city hall and at the Cannet GIP office, the judicial source said, adding that the preliminary investigation was still ongoing.

Tabarot joined the government of Prime Minister Francois Bayrou last month.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)

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