Senator accused over pizza bill

A LANGUEDOC-ROUSSILLON senator is under criminal investigation for misusing funds after it emerged he spent €42,000 on pizzas over two years.

Investigations by Socialist Party officials revealed Robert Navarro, senator for the Hérault, spent the colossal sum on pizzas such as four seasons and calzones from Les Hockeyeurs, a Montpellier take-away run by a friend, from 2008-2010 while heading the local Socialist office.

It came to light after he was suspended from the job for having supported a controversial candidate in the last regional elections and other party officials were put in charge.

They have lodged a complaint against him for abus de confiance (breach of trust), an embarrassment for one of the front runners for the Socialist leadership, Corrèze MP François Hollande, as Mr Navarro is part of his campaign team.

While the party suspects corruption, Mr Navarro stated the accusation was a matter of political dirty tactics, by supporters of current Socialist leader Martine Aubry for the presidency.

The pizzas were ordered for around 30 party volunteers who came to fortnightly meetings at the HQ, he told news magazine L’Express. “The least we could do was to offer them a meal,” he said, adding they supported Les Hockeyeurs because the owner was a party activist.

A “close aide” of Hollande’s told L’Express “the presence of Navarro in the team is not a plus; I’m not thrilled about it.”