French minister resigns over favoritism allegations
French
President Francois Hollande (C) and Junior Minister for Veteran Affairs
Kader Arif (L) arrive to attend a military ceremony in the courtyard of
the Invalides in Paris in this May 22, 2014 file photo.
Sat Nov 22, 2014 5:13AM GMT
A French junior minister has resigned after being accused of favoring his relatives in awarding lucrative public contracts.
Kader Arif, a junior minister for veteran affairs, submitted his resignation to President Francois Hollande on Friday.The president's office said in a statement that Arif "handed in his resignation in order to provide all the details necessary to establish the truth in the preliminary investigation by financial prosecutors in which he is implicated."
He is the latest member of the government to quit in the face of political and personal scandals that have hit France's most unpopular president in polling history.
"My name has been cited in a preliminary investigation," Arif, a close friend of Hollande, said in a statement.
"Out of respect for ministerial function... I am choosing with full responsibility to leave the post that I have occupied for two years."In September, Arif said he was "absolutely not concerned" over allegations implicating him in the awarding of public contracts to members of his family.
The preliminary investigation has been focusing on whether two event management companies run by Arif's brother and nephew benefited from favoritism in the awarding of public contracts worth 2 million euros (USD 2.5 million) in the southwestern city of Toulouse.
The probe is a first step before a possible full inquiry.
Arif’s resignation came just over two months after Thomas Thevenoud, the former junior trade minister, was forced to step down over tax irregularities just nine days after his appointment in a cabinet reshuffle.
In March 2013, Hollande's former budget minister, Jerome Cahuzac, also quit over revelations that he had secret bank accounts in Switzerland.
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