Police investigators attempted to search the Élysée Palace on Tuesday amid a probe into public contracts for Panthéon entry ceremonies. Access to the premises was denied under article 67 of the Constitution, though computers were handed over to investigators. The inquiry targets Shortcut Events, the sole recipient of contracts from 2002 to 2024.
On Tuesday morning, investigators from the Brigade financière et anticorruption (BFAC) of the Paris judicial police went to the Élysée Palace on rue du Faubourg-Saint-Honoré in Paris. According to a source close to the inquiry and Le Canard enchaîné, the operation was part of a judicial investigation opened on October 2, 2025, by financial prosecutor Pascal Prache for “favoritism, illegal taking of interests, corruption, and influence peddling”.
The probe concerns the awarding of public contracts by the Centre des monuments nationaux (CMN) for Panthéon entry ceremonies. It follows a preliminary investigation by the parquet national financier (PNF) started on December 7, 2023. While access to Élysée services was denied under article 67 of the Constitution, which ensures the inviolability of the presidency, personal computers were voluntarily handed over to investigators, the Élysée stated.
At the center is Shortcut Events, an event agency founded in 1996 with about 30 employees. The firm was the sole winner of Panthéonization contracts from 2002 to 2024, with each ceremony billed at around two million euros to the state, per Le Canard enchaîné. The agency also handled other national events, such as the 2023 inauguration of the Francophonie city or the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in 2024.
The Élysée confirmed the investigators’ visit and said: “Whenever the judicial authority requests it, the Élysée ensures cooperation. But always in respect of article 67 of the Constitution.”
