Alexis Kohler: Between MSC and Elise, the confusion of ambitions

The boxes are ready. In the spring of 2014, Minister of Economy Pierre Moskovich is going to go to Bercy. Alexis Kohler, the deputy director of his office, is concerned about his own future. What should I do ? Taking over the State Equity Agency (APE), an organization he already has Was one of the bosses? Or privately, in this case with Italian-Swiss shipowner MSC, the world leader in maritime transport?

This powerful group, owned by his mother’s family, wants to take him and has been after him for a long time. “I think this project dates back to 2013”, Alexa Aponte, MSC Empire’s CFO and cousin of the senior official, would later clarify to police. The billionaire moderates the questions of the investigators, who are now trying to determine whether Alexis Kohler, now the General Secretary of the President of the Republic, when he worked for Bercy, could help the interests of the MSC, which he was subordinated to. on the crime of “illegal taking of interests”. An awkward affair for this 50-year-old enarch, Emmanuel Macron’s chief aide.

Let’s go back to 2014. At that time, the fate of the Franco-Korean shipyard STX (formerly Chantiers de l’Atlantique) was of concern to the socialist government. Crucial commercial discussions take place between their representatives, the shipowner MSC and the Bercy services: STX relies on MSC to order ships. Alexis Kohler, at the Ministry, is on the front lines to keep informed about this case. However, at the same time, he is in a relationship, this time personally, with his cousin Alexa Aponte.

It was he who offered her dinner on Sunday, January 26, 2014. object? “Let’s talk about Geneva again”, he says in an email. Geneva, the headquarters of the group and the city where he could relocate with his wife and children if hired by the shipowner. Specifically, while MSC is conducting high-level negotiations, the Aponte family offers Golden Bridge’s Alexis Kohler to join it. What causes trouble in light of potential conflicts of interest.

The idea of ​​changing life tempts Kohlers. Alex’s salary (10,500 euros per month) will be doubled, an apartment will become available for him. His wife, Sylvie, negotiates directly with Rafaela Aponte, Alexa’s mother and founder of MSC. Two women know each other well: Rafaela, the owner of a magnificent yacht radialHe is used to inviting the French family on summer cruises.