UTILITIES' STAFF FUND DID POWER OF GOOD FOR COMMUNISTS

PARIS September 13, 2005 (Guardian) - In theory, the staff association of France's state power utility, EDF-GDF, organises cheap meals, holidays and leisure activities for the company's 205,000 employees. In practice, according to an official report, its main aim is to channel funds to the French Communist party [Parti communiste français or PCF].

Among other "irregularities", the 1,000-page report by the Cour des Comptes, the government's accounting watchdog, accuses the staff body, the CCAS [la Caisse centrale des activités sociales], of sponsoring the Communists' summer festival to the tune of €430,000 (£290,000) a year, donating €20,000 to out-of-work actors, and handing tens of thousands to Communist trade unions through doctored expenses claims.

No surprise, the CCAS harumphs that there is something sinister about the press making public reports by public entities widely available to the public:

Whereas the tentative findings of the Court of Auditors [Cour des Comptes] are confidential, le Figaro [which reported the damning findings] succeeded in acquiring and publishing them in order to continue its media campaign several months ago. Such an attitude shows a manifest will to call into question the national status of the personnel of the Industries électrique et gazière, its assets, and its social activities. Le Figaro goes farther, speaking about an "asphyxiation" of the social welfare -- without basis in reality and far from the findings of the Court of Auditors -- to disturb the employees and all the recipients of the social activities and dependents.

In this spirit our organizations [scil., CCAS, IFOREP, and the Comité de coordination] intend to reserve their responses to the Court of Auditors and not to maintain debate through an interposed press.

Harumph. Go away.

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