Police search Macron's party offices

Prosecutors raided the Renaissance party headquarters of France's President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday as part of a probe into the use of consulting companies by the government since 2017.

The offices of United States consulting giant McKinsey in Paris were also searched, the National Financial Prosecutor's Office said.

The operations were part of a duel probe into the role of such companies in French politics, reported the Agence France-Presse news service, or AFP.

According to a French Senate report that concluded in March, Macron's government and other public bodies have signed contracts worth at least €2.4 billion euros ($2.55 billion) with consultancy companies since 2018.

The Senate inquiry found that public spending on consultancies had more than doubled from 2018 to 2021, during Macron's first term.

Prosecutors have not publicly identified the president or his campaign teams as the targets of the investigations.

"It's normal for the judiciary to investigate freely and independently to shed all the light on this subject, "Renaissance spokesman Loic Signor said. He added that the party is ready "to provide all useful information on the campaigns".

McKinsey confirmed the searches of its offices and told Le Figaro newspaper that "the firm is co-operating fully with the authorities, as has always been the case".

Dubbed "McKinseygate" by French media, the revelation that expensive foreign consultancies are used for strategic advice has outraged many French voters.

Macron has repeatedly justified the use of the companies, telling reporters in March that "when you want to go very quickly and very strongly with a policy, you need to make use of outside contractors occasionally".

Prosecutors said that Tuesday's raids were part of inquiries into the use of consultancies during Macron's successful presidential campaigns in 2017 and 2022.

AFP reported that McKinsey consultants were known to have worked as volunteers on Macron's 2017 election campaign and prosecutors could be investigating whether this involved a concealed campaign fee.

Two investigations launched in October have been looking into possible false election campaign accounting, as well as possible favoritism and conspiracy.

The prosecutor's office has said some companies may have been favored for government contracts with the total expenses adding up to more than $1.1 billion.

Some contracts were awarded during the COVID-19 pandemic under "problematic" circumstances, according to a report from France's state auditor, the Cour des Comptes, cited by Le Monde newspaper on Monday.

France has strict rules around financing of political parties and election campaigns.

Last year, former president Nicolas Sarkozy was sentenced to one year in prison for illegally funding his unsuccessful 2012 re-election campaign. Sarkozy denied any wrongdoing and has appealed against the ruling.