Secretary of State Nathalie Elimas, who is the subject of an administrative investigation into the functioning of her cabinet following accusations of moral harassment, is leaving the government, the Elysée announced on Saturday.
“On the proposal of the Prime Minister, the President of the Republic terminated, at their request, the functions of” Nathalie Elimas, as well as of the Minister of Territorial Cohesion Jacqueline Gourault, whose departure was planned to join the Council constitutional.
His appointment desired by Emmanuel Macron was validated by parliament, the opposition however criticizing his lack of training in law. She will be replaced by Joël Giraud who until now was Secretary of State in charge of rurality.
Nathalie Elimas was Secretary of State to the Minister of National Education, Youth and Sports, in charge of Priority Education.
In mid-February, according to Europe 1, an internal pre-report had been submitted to Jean Castex. His conclusions “are terrible” for Nathalie Elimas, directly implicated, according to a source from the Elysee Palace quoted by the radio.
The Prime Minister had spoken with the Secretary of State to “ask her for an explanation” and Nathalie Elimas then “refused the option” of leaving the government.
Two sources interviewed by AFP had confirmed that the testimonies targeting Ms. Elimas were “concordant” but also “serious” and “overwhelming”.
Several sources had also told AFP that Ms. Elimas was accused of acts of “harassment” or even “abuse” of employees. Half a dozen people are said to be victims, according to two people who have worked since July 2020 in the office of this human resources specialist.
The Secretary of State had denounced a “attack of great violence, in a personal capacity”. It is “very hard, very violent, the violence is incredible for my children, but on the bottom of things I am serene”, she said in mid-February on Radio J.
“What is happening today are extremely malicious leaks, probably to destabilize me. Defamation is characterized,” she then assured.
Aged 48, Nathalie Elimas entered the government in July 2020 following being elected in 2017 as a MoDem deputy (presidential majority) for Val-d’Oise.
