Gilles Carrez, his right-wing predecessor, said: “The fear is that as an LFI it is constantly political and has an extremely strong ideological content that it could be tempted to organize leaks. “Tax secrecy is dynamite and one must be extremely responsible. It is a fundamental element in a democratic country. “Throwing the tax data of individuals or companies at dogs is the principle of totalitarianism.” He is also punished with one year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros. Mr Coquerel insisted he had no intention of ordering any “single witch hunts” and said: “I embody a real opposition to the system and the end to Thatcher’s ‘no alternative’,” he said. “We are defending a program that is at odds with neoliberalism, but we know how to do it in the context of democracy.” He said “we are not going to use it to target political opponents”, but added that if he could use his position to detect tax evasion by big companies “I will not hesitate to do so”. The committee also has the power to overturn draft amendments to any legislation if it deems it unnecessarily burdening public finances. The result is a setback for the National Rally, which has argued it deserved the seat as the largest single-minded opposition with 89 seats. However, while the LFI has fewer MPs with 75, it is part of a broader Left-Green alliance called the Nupes, which has a total of 151 seats. RN hoped to use the position to bolster its credentials as a credible party capable of governing. Jean-Philippe Tanguy, his defeated candidate, said his opponent’s election was “not only illegal in terms of rules, it is piracy and a major threat to the country’s economic stability”. Macron’s failure to forge a parliamentary majority complicates his reform plans and has forced him to seek alliances with lawmakers from other parties to gather a majority that his struggling prime minister, Elizabeth Bourne, has so far failed to secure. She is expected to outline her plans in a speech to parliament next Wednesday.
