PARIS, May 22 (Xinhua) -- Investigators from the Paris financial prosecutor's office on Thursday searched the Elysee Palace as part of an inquiry into public contracts awarded for ceremonies held at the Pantheon, according to French media reports on Friday.
According to French daily Le Monde, the probe focused on contracts awarded by the French presidency to event management company Shortcut Events.
The company was notably responsible for organizing memorial ceremonies at the Pantheon between 2002 and 2024, the French weekly Le Canard Enchaine reported.
Allegedly, the company had consistently secured the contracts over more than two decades, with each ceremony costing the state around 2 million euros (2.4 million U.S. dollars).
Investigators had made an unsuccessful attempt in an initial search of the presidential palace on April 14, according to Le Monde, adding that offices of Shortcut Events and the homes of several individuals implicated in the case were also targeted and searched on the same day.
The Elysee Palace had not commented on the matter at the time of publication, Le Monde reported. ■
