Overview
- Investigators from the Parquet national financier carried out a search of premises at the Élysée Palace on 21 May as part of an active judicial inquiry into Panthéon ceremony contracts.
- The inquiry was opened in October 2025 on suspicion of favoritism, illegal interest taking, corruption and influence peddling and is being handled by the PNF with the Brigade financière and anti‑corruption units.
- Press reporting and investigators are focusing on Shortcut Events, which reportedly won contracts to organise Panthéon ceremonies from 2002 through 2024 and whose events were estimated at about €2 million each.
- A prior attempt to search the Élysée on 14 April was refused after authorities invoked Article 67 on the inviolability of presidential premises, and the 21 May search followed institutional discussions that allowed access.
- Searches and document seizures have also targeted the Centre des Monuments Nationaux, company premises and private addresses, the probe has not produced indictments and investigators continue to collect evidence that could affect public procurement oversight and political accountability.