When the mayor of Noyon Sandrine Dauchelle was paying her own legal costs and conviction by the city

In its report to be published on the management of the city of Noyon from 2018 to 2024, the Regional chamber of accounts (CRC) which dissected the financial management of the city of Noyon Also stopped on the file of legal costs of the town under Sandrine Dauchelle. Expenses that have literally exploded in recent years as we have revealed to you previously. The Chamber also criticizes the way the mayor of Noyon illegally paid its legal costs to the city.

After also questioning the award of certain markets to personalities close to his party, Republicansthe room became interested in invoices between the city of Noyon and the lawyer Jérôme Grand d’Esnon from the Parisian firm Carbonnier Lamaze Rasle & Associés. Jérôme Grand d’Esnon is also a personality that revolves in the galaxy LR. He collaborated in a long time with the party: first close advisor to Jacques Chirac (RPR), he was then the council in particular of Bruno Lemaire (UMP).

He was also Sandrine Dauchelle’s personal lawyer before becoming that of the city of Noyon.

When the Grand D’Emounte Cabinet loves all the things

In its final observations report, the Regional Chamber of Accounts notes that “in 2023”, “the municipality has increased increased by external providers” and in particular to the Cabinet of Jérôme Grand d’Esnon. And this “despite a legal assistance agreement concluded with another firm”.

The CRC explains that the city justified this fact due to the “maternity leave” of “the only lawyer”, of the cabinet with which it had contracted. The cabinet of M^e Grand d’Ennon actually vampirized the city’s legal activity in 2022: it “totaled, in 2023, 71 % of the amounts allocated”, and the previous year, “in 2022, all of the amounts committed”, Calculate the CRC.

In 2022 the City thus spent 18,000 euros in litigation fees and legal advice and 64,172 euros in 2023. A real explosion of legal costs.

The CRC sees “two difficulties”, in the deals passed with the Cabinet Carbonnier Lamaze Rasle & Associés.

The pre -existing contract with another firm poses the first problem. “These services were performed while in parallel, the municipality had concluded, in October 2022, a legal assistance agreement with another lawyer company,” write the magistrates of the Chamber. The contract was valid for a year. And the city had undertaken to pay “quarterly fees of 2,880 euros corresponding to” an estimate of its needs “. Associations happily exceeded in 2022 and especially 2023.

Transparency problems

The CRC also notes transparency concerns. She writes that certainly the city was “exempt (…) of preliminary publicity”. The threshold of 40,000 euros beyond which must be used for a call for tenders is the subject of an exception in terms of legal advice. Despite this “the call to providers (…) must respect the general principles of public procurement, including equal treatment and freedom of access”, considers the Regional Chamber of Accounts. The community should also have “avoiding systematically contracting with the same provider”.

Alerted by the financial magistrates, the city has committed to predicting a distribution of these legal costs “in three lots” in the future. The city of Noyon and the Noyonnais country were thus recently represented by M^e Hugues Portelli. A lawyer, by the way, also very close to the Republicans: former UMP senator, he is also the father of Florence Portelli, vice-president of the LR party. As during her use of Emmanuel Espanol’s society, Sandrine Dauchelle is struggling with her promise not to give “in the cronyism”.

Personal lawyer to city lawyer

At the end of 2020 / early 2021, Jérôme Grand d’Esnon was the personal lawyer of Sandrine Dauchelle when it comes to pleading against the cancellation of the elections. The cancellation was pronounced by the Administrative Court of Amiens in January 2021. Decision confirmed on appeal by the Council of State on July 22, 2021.

However, between the first instance and the call, the firm of Jérôme Grand of Esnon invoices in twice 3,298.40 euros to the city of Noyon. Invoices dated May 31, 2021. For what reasons? Mystery. On the two invoices is the very opaque worded “various”.

Have financial magistrates attempted whether these amounts actually corresponded to the election cancellation procedure? Payment in Sandrine Dauchelle? It is not said. What is however written black on white is that Sandrine Dauchelle later brought her legal expenses to the city, in total illegality …

“We are not under Putin”: the defamation trial

On September 13, 2022 the former PS mayor Patrick Deguise appears at the Court of Compiègne for public insult. He is assigned by Mayor Sandrine Dauchelle after having said, during a municipal council with difficult dialogue: “We are still in the Republic, we are not yet the Putin regime”. For the mayor of Noyon: “an insult”. Not for the court which releases the former mayor and ordered Sandrine Dauchelle to pay 1,560 euros, deeming “abusive”, the action brought.

In this new affair, it was in the office of Jérôme Grand in Esnon that Sandrine Dauchelle entrusted the procedure. And the City thus invoices 4,700 euros (including 1,000 euros in consignment) to the Parisian firm.

Portfolio error

Big problem: the mayor had never passed on functional protection for herself in advice. However, this would have enabled him to have his procedural costs brought to the municipality. In the absence of such a text, it was therefore up to her to settle the fees.

Worse, civil fine was also paid by the city. However, “formally pronounced against Mrs. Dauchelle In Personam», She should have been set by Sandrine Dauchelle reports the CRC. A mayor, who therefore confused his portfolio and that of the Noyonnais. For an amount of 6,260 euros.

The room, in its provisional report, therefore “invited the town to issue a title of recipe towards the mayor”. The final report specifies that these sums have since been reimbursed …

An era of multiplication of procedures

To explain, finally, the explosion of legal costs at that time, and why Jérôme Grand d’Esnons did good business with the city of Noyon, it must be remembered that the mayor had engaged in a real crusade against The former mayor Deguise. In particular, trying to harm it with electoral lists. A procedure, again lost by Sandrine Dauchelle, who had cost the city the trifle of 7,300 euros. A sum set, there too, in the cabinet of Jérôme Grand d’Esnon.

Jérôme Grand’s Jérôme Grand of Esnon’s firm thus billed from May 2021 to June 2023 for 52.695 euros in costs, minus the 6,260 euros reimbursed by Sandrine Dauchelle, despite everything the responsibility of the taxpayer 46.435 euros.

Bonus: when a cabinet supposed to bring money could cost it

Throughout its report, the CRC criticizes the city of Noyon for outsourcing costs (via the companies of Emmanuel Espanol in particular), while in parallel, there have never been so many agents and that ‘They never cost so expensive.

This is also the case for research… of funding. Sandrine Dauchelle decided alone, in early January 2024 (what is called “a decision by the mayor”), to “entrust a private service provider, for one year, the search for funding”. During this announcement in council, the opposition was surprised asking in substance: “What kind of subsidies would find this cabinet, that the agents could not?”

CRC is also skeptical. She first recalls that in her decision, the mayor evokes “a lump sum remuneration of 7,200 euros”. Thus “a variable part” which was not specified during its presentation to the council.

This variable share “raises difficulties”, estimates the chamber which has been communicated the contract: “it stipulates that the company (…) will receive 12 % of the amount of subsidies”. With such amounts, we could very quickly exceed the threshold of 40,000 euros beyond which the companies must be put in competition, explains the CRC. Competition which therefore did not take place. “No mechanism is planned to avoid exceeding this threshold,” adds the CRC, while this threshold appears to it “however easily attainable”.

Furthermore, CRC criticizes the fact that the cabinet perceives its remuneration on the dates of acceptance of subsidies, dates “which can be relatively distant from effective collection”. For the CRC, it is “dangerous” at the “look of the great difficulties of the commune”.

Adjust an advance, before perceiving money, when you are dry: perhaps a beautiful stupidity indeed.

CRC’s cruel conclusion

As the opposition at the time, the CRC completes this point by “wondering” about this “strategy of outsourcing the search for funding”. Observing that this task is used to the agents. The risk, as we understand, is to pay a company, first via a package of 7,200 euros, then in committee, to ultimately take out anything more than the agents would have done. On the contrary: by leaving 12 %.

The conclusion is fierce: “In such a context (financial, editor’s note), the choice to initiate additional expenses, comprising an incompressible fixed part, with an external provider, appears difficult to understand”.

Merciless.

In a future article, we will see how, despite an overwhelming overhead report, Sandrine Dauchelle has made the magistrates an astonishing response, contesting the work and almost the probity of the room, and always seeming to deny the reality of her Finances.