Paris City Hall raided in the Triangle Tower file

The search, revealed by Le Parisien, was completed early Wednesday afternoon, said the entourage of Mayor Anne Hidalgo.

The National Financial Prosecutor's Office (PNF) confirmed "that a search (had) taken place (Wednesday) morning in the premises of the Hôtel de Ville de Paris".

Led by two investigating magistrates, according to the mayor's entourage, the search follows the judicial investigation opened in March by the PNF for suspicions of favoritism in the contract for the operation of the Parc des expositions in the south of Paris, where construction of the tower began in February.

The judges were accompanied by gendarmes from the Paris research section, according to a close source.

"It is the logical and coherent continuation of the judicial information", commented the entourage of Anne Hidalgo who says she is "at the disposal of justice" and for whom the search took place "in a very calm way, don't panic."

Technicians searched computers to seize documents from the urban planning department, that of legal affairs, financial affairs, general services and the mayor's office, said those around Ms. Hidalgo.

Investigators entered Anne Hidalgo's office, where they "stayed for a quarter of an hour", it was said. The mayor, traveling to Avignon for the festival, was absent but will return Wednesday evening for the transfer of powers to the police headquarters between Didier Lallement and Laurent Nuñez.

Nobody at the town hall is "challenged, even less indicted", underlines the mayor's office, in this file which dates back to the beginning of the 2010s, when Bertrand Delanoë was mayor, Anne Hidalgo first deputy to the town planning and Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne, director of town planning.

Disputed charges

The PNF had opened a preliminary investigation for "favoritism" and "concealment of favoritism" in June 2021, then a judicial investigation in March.

The City of Paris had terminated the concession contract awarded to the company Viparis, then again entrusted it with the operation of the event complex via a emphyteutic lease (for a period of 50 years) following a call for tenders. bids found to be questionable.

The deadlines for submitting tenders were considered too short, given the complexity of the project. In addition, the City had accepted that Viparis does not pay the entry fee of 263 million euros requested from candidates.

In exchange, this subsidiary of Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield had to waive the compensation for early termination of the initial contract.

“We are very satisfied that the instruction allows progress in this file”, reacted Elise Van Beneden, president of the Anticor association who had filed a complaint with civil action in February 2021.

The mayor LR of the 2020th arrondissement of Paris, Rachida Dati, had also reported to justice in July 42 the construction project of the tower, which must stretch over 180 floors and XNUMX m high, in the perimeter of the Parc des expositions. .

Ms. Dati and Anticor relied on a report from the Ile-de-France regional chamber of accounts of July 2020, which considered in particular that the Triangle Tower project had been "inserted in a questionable way within the enclosure of the Park exhibitions".

The City of Paris, Unibail-Rodamco Westfield and Viparis reject the charges, claiming to have respected the rules of the call for tenders.