After two decades in the whirlwind of Nice political life, Lauriano Azinheirinha thought of offering himself a comfortable end to his career in the private sector. At the age of 54, this close friend of the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi, had received an enticing offer from Kantys, a group of private clinics in full expansion, owned by millionaire Jean-Louis Oger. “When a headhunting firm approached me with this proposal, I thought to myself ‘why not?’relate-t-il. I like professional challenges, and working in public health is consistent with my background. “The profile of Mr. Azinheirinha has been retained given his managerial experience”adds the Kantys group.
It was counting without the vigilance of the High Authority for the transparency of public life (HATVP). According to information from Monde, the institution blocked its “revolving door” to Kantys on September 20, noting a risk of illegal taking of interests. A rare decision, since the HATVP, guarantor of the probity of public officials, only challenges on average 10% of “Mobility projects for public officials to the private sector” of which she is seized.
Although anonymized, the decision made public on the HATVP website in October offers some keys to understanding the institution’s reluctance. After nine years as assistant to Christian Estrosi, Lauriano Azinheirinha officiated for five years as director general of services (DGS) for the city and metropolis of Nice, between 2017 and 2022. A discreet but strategic position, which consists of steering the municipal administration and to support the mayor in his management, as a director of administration in a ministry can do. As such, he had to deal with two cases involving the Kantys group.
The risk of dismissal
Starting with the sale to Kantys of a municipal plot of 2.3 hectares in the “eco-valley” of the Var plain, on which the group plans to build a large “health center” by 2026. The land, property of the municipality of Nice, was sold for just under 9 million euros, following a favorable opinion from the municipal council in May 2021. Shortly following, the metropolis of Nice declared the project of general interest and asked the prefect of the Alpes-Maritimes for a derogation from the rules of urbanization to facilitate its establishment. However, these two deliberations “had been validated[e]s by one of the assistants of [Lauriano Azinheirinha] acting under his authoritynotes the HATVP. “In his capacity as General Manager of Services, [il] had necessarily been brought to know of this project”continues the review.
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