Paris: French President Emmanuel Macron is justifying his choice to back two ministers in his government whose past actions have clouded the new leader's effort to clean up politics.
Macron said Wednesday that only the justice system, and not media reports, can decide whether the actions by Territorial Cohesion Minister Richard Ferrand and European Affairs Minister Mareille de Sarnez are worth prosecuting.
Government spokesman Christophe Castaner told reporters after a Cabinet meeting that Macron also stressed the "need for transparency" in French politics.
The issue is posing a challenge to Macron's first big project for France, a draft law on "moralizing" politics.
Ferrand is suspected of past business practices that benefited his romantic partner. Sarnez is among several people under investigation over their use of European Parliament assistants.
