Court of Auditors: President Pierre Moscovici to leave the institution

Former Socialist minister and European Commissioner Pierre Moscovici announced on Thursday, September 18, his departure from the Court of Auditors after five years at its helm, with a position at the European Court of Auditors in his sights.

"France has proposed my candidacy as the new French member of the European Court of Auditors. This proposal will be submitted to the European Parliament and the Council in the autumn, with a view to appointment from 1 January 2026," he wrote in an internal letter.

"This proposal honors me and constitutes the continuation of my commitment of more than forty years in the service of financial jurisdictions, the State and European institutions," assures the official.

Pierre Moscovici, 68, was appointed first president of the Court of Auditors in 2020, and saw his mandate extended until September 2026 by a decree dated July 15 raising the age limit for this position.

Although he indicated that he had decided to "end his mandate before its end in September 2026" , Pierre Moscovici assured that his "mandate does not end today" : "until its end I will be fully mobilized at your side" .

"In January, I will leave proud to have led an exceptional institution and collective, entirely devoted to the general interest," he added.

The son of a couple of great Jewish intellectuals from Eastern Europe, Pierre Moscovici flirted with Trotskyism in his youth. He has now, and for many years, claimed a social-democratic position.

A former student of the ENA (National School of Administration), he joined the Socialist Party in 1984 and began his electoral career in 1994 in the cantonal elections on Peugeot's home turf, where the historic Sochaux factory is located. He was also a member of parliament for Doubs.

A loyal supporter of Dominique Strauss-Kahn , he bounced back within François Hollande's campaign team after his mentor was swept away in 2011 by a sex scandal.

He was also a Member of the European Parliament, and twice Minister: for European Affairs under Lionel Jospin, then head of Bercy at the start of François Hollande's mandate, in two successive governments of Jean-Marc Ayrault.

His time at the Court of Auditors has been punctuated by dramatic moves and sensational interventions. Last July, Le Monde reported on the discontent of magistrates whose retirement postponement had been rejected. In the newspaper, they denounced "arbitrary and discretionary decisions" as well as "very political" governance by the former socialist politician.

At the beginning of September, Pierre Moscovici criticized "a handful of magistrates" of the court who, according to him, were falsely criticizing his governance in the press, and denied any political bias in his management.

Pierre Moscovici also responded in July to criticism of the appointment of Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, former socialist minister of national education, as senior adviser to the Court – assuring that the recruitment procedure had been "perfectly objective" .

At the beginning of 2025, the first president of the Court of Auditors had also threatened to refuse to certify the State's accounts if the institution's recommendations were not better listened to. Noting that, "for the 19th consecutive year, the State's accounts are not able to be certified without very significant reservations" , Pierre Moscovici had declared "that in the absence of progress in 2025, the Court could be led to (...) not certify them" .

Another notable intervention: in the autumn of 2024, concerned about poorly assessed economic forecasts which had led to an unprecedented slippage in the public deficit that year, the man who is also president of the High Council of Public Finances (HCFP) had estimated that he would like to see this body take charge of France's economic forecasts.