Former mayor of Yvoir, Charles Paquet, 86, is set to be expelled from his political group, Ensemble pour Yvoir (EPY), during the next municipal council meeting on 17 March.
Paquet, who is currently a municipal councillor, reportedly collected both a pension as a former official and a salary as alderman for several years, according to newspaper L’Avenir.
He served as alderman of Yvoir, in Namur province, for 11 years and as mayor for one year between 2000 and 2012. After retiring from politics in 2012, Paquet received a pension as a public official.
However, following his return to politics in 2018, where he was re-elected and appointed alderman until 2024, he failed to notify the Federal Pension Service (SFP) of his change in status. This allowed him to continue claiming his pension while receiving his alderman’s salary.
In 2022, the municipal administration discovered this breach and halted his pension payments. According to L’Avenir, Paquet had improperly received a total of €59,000.
He has reimbursed €8,462 for six months of overpayments, while the SFP assumed responsibility for the case. However, Paquet has refused to repay the remaining €50,000, asserting that he provided extensive voluntary services to the council using equipment from his company during his tenure as alderman.
“My situation is sound, my conscience is clear, and I have done everything I could for the commune over the years. This is an administrative issue that I won’t comment on further; it is in the hands of my lawyer,” Paquet stated.
The EPY group acknowledged Paquet’s long service to the municipality but deemed his handling of the matter incompatible with the group’s values. “That is why EPY has decided to take responsibility and to exclude him,” the group said in a statement.
