VIDEO. "Cash Investigation." Cédric O, former Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, became a lobbyist in Brussels.

Cédric O isn't the best-known of Emmanuel Macron's ministers, but he was one of his very first collaborators. Treasurer of his campaign in 2017, he became his advisor at the Élysée Palace for two years and, finally, Secretary of State for Digital Affairs between 2019 and 2022.

He is one of the architects of the "start-up nation," and he is also behind a plan to make France the European leader in artificial intelligence. To implement this plan, the government has spent €3 billion. Cédric O left the government in 2022 and, in April 2023, he co-founded Mistral AI, an artificial intelligence startup developing a "French-style ChatGPT." A year later, the company was valued at nearly €6 billion.

Cédric O played a key role in Brussels during the negotiations for the AI ​​Act, the European law governing artificial intelligence, the first regulation of its kind in the world. While the original version of the AI ​​Act, adopted in 2023 by an overwhelming majority of MEPs, was extremely protective of citizens, Cédric O spoke out in the press to denounce it. But he also took action.

So, he registered as a lobbyist with the European Union to represent Mistral's interests, which is legal. And he used all his influence to try to influence the AI ​​Act. By consulting the EU Transparency Register, "Cash Investigation" discovered multiple meetings between Cédric O and the European Commission in Brussels: one with the European Commission, three others with MEPs participating in the negotiations. Among them, Brando Benifei, the law's rapporteur.

Elise Menand, a journalist at "Cash Investigation," interviewed him. Brando Benifei remembers his interview with the co-founder of Mistral AI well: "I met Cédric O just as I've met many other founders or managers of small, medium, and large companies. He told me that we shouldn't have strict rules. He was really insistent, he was full of conviction... but he didn't convince me."

According to the AI ​​Act rapporteur, Cédric O is not a lobbyist like the others. Work on this European regulation began in 2021, before the creation of Mistral AI, when he was France's Secretary of State for Digital Affairs. And it was in this capacity that he led meetings on the AI ​​Act.

Isn't it awkward that, on the same regulation, we can be first on the side of the regulator, and then on the side of the company that is going to be regulated? "I think it's not a good practice. This mixing of genres, the fact of being first in the public sector and then in the private sector, probably created confusion with his interlocutors. And I think he wasn't very happy with the meeting we had...", concludes Brando Benifei.

In its final version, the AI ​​Act was amended, a compromise was reached. And Arthur Mensch, co-founder and CEO of Mistral AI, welcomed this in an article in Le Monde : "In its final form, the AI ​​Act is entirely manageable for us," he declared...

Does a former Secretary of State for Digital Affairs have the right to become a lobbyist for a digital company after leaving government? To oversee the career changes of former senior civil servants and ministers, there is a "police officer," the HATVP (High Authority for Transparency in Public Life). She declined to grant an interview to the magazine, but when asked in writing, she replied that the opinion issued regarding Cédric O "does not prohibit lobbying actions at the European level."

"Cash Investigation" repeatedly offered Cédric O an interview, but he declined. However, he told the show: "I strictly adhere to the requirements set by the HATVP."

Excerpt from "Politics and Business: Dangerous Liaisons," to be seen in " Cash Investigation " on June 24, 2025, on France 2.

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