Close Macron aide Alexis Kohler investigated over conflict of interest

Alexis Kohler (R) runs President Macron's office and is often described as his right-hand man

The French president's chief of staff has been placed under judicial investigation relating to a potential conflict of interest.

France's financial crimes prosecutor says Alexis Kohler, one of Emmanuel Macron's closest aides, is being investigated over links to Swiss-Italian shipping company MSC.

Mr Kohler has denied wrongdoing and remains in his post.

He runs Mr Macron's office and is often described as his right-hand man.

He is the second key ally of the French president involved in a conflict-of-interest case.

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Mr Kohler is accused over his professional and family links with Italian-Swiss shipping company Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) which is run by his mother's cousins, the Aponte family.

In 2018, anti-corruption NGO Anticor filed a legal complaint against Mr Kohler for breaking conflict-of-interest rules over contracts awarded to MSC in 2010 and 2011, the AFP news agency reports.

"Elements revealed by the press suggest that he [Mr Kohler] took advantage of these functions [in the government] to defend the interests of MSC," says Anticor.

The case was dismissed the following year, but in 2020, Anticor filed a complaint, which usually triggers a probe by an investigating magistrate, AFP reports.

Mr Kohler - who like Mr Macron, studied at the elite institutions Sciences Po and ENA - has worked with him for years, including as Mr Macron's chief of staff at the finance ministry where he was appointed in 2014.

In 2016, when Mr Macron left the government to prepare the presidential campaign, Mr Kohler left to join MSC as finance director, but continued to work on Mr Macron's bid for the presidency. He was rewarded with the top staff position at the Elysée Palace in May 2017.

Being placed under formal investigation is the first step in France of legal proceedings that can lead to a trial. The person can be charged at a later date, or the investigation can be dropped.

Also on Monday, another Macron ally, Justice Minister Éric Dupond-Moretti, was ordered to stand trial in a separate case, also over a conflict of interest.

He is accused of abusing his position to settle scores with opponents from his previous legal career before he became justice minister.

His lawyers have said they would appeal the decision to open the trial, and that Mr Dupond-Moretti, who denies the charges, would not resign.