The Elysée announced on Tuesday, October 15, that it would not request an increase in its allocation for 2025 after the controversy caused by the increase in its budget, ensuring that it wanted “lead by example” such as the National Assembly and the Senate, which will also renounce increasing their credits.
While “The government has announced numerous savings”, “The head of state wants the presidency of the Republic to set an example”the Elysée explained in a press release. The Presidency’s appropriations were to go from 122.6 million euros to 125.7 million euros, an increase of 2.5%, higher than the overall increase in prices planned for 2025 in the draft budget (1.8% of average inflation). Therefore, the savings proposed by the Presidency will be around three million euros for the state budget.
The two chambers of Parliament also announced a budget effort through a press release from their presidents, Yaël Braun-Pivet and Gérard Larcher: both the National Assembly and the Senate will propose during the autumn budget debates to renounce the indexation of the allocation of Parliament to inflation. rate.
“It is normal and fundamental that the two assemblies participate in the effort that requires everyone to restore the public finances of our country”say the presidents of the two chambers. These had approved in recent months the increase in their allocation by 1.7% for 2025, increasing it to approximately 618 million euros for the National Assembly and 359 million euros for the Senate.
Savings of around 16 million euros
This decision, which must still be adopted by Parliament during the examination of the finance bill for 2025, will therefore allow savings of around €16 million in total for the two assemblies.
The increase in allocations from the Presidency and Parliament had raised numerous questions in recent days, in a context of profound deterioration in France’s budgetary situation, and while the Government will request efforts from various sectors of activity and administration.
“I understand that this raises questions and that there is a debate about it”the Minister of Public Accounts, Laurent Saint-Martin, said on TF1 on Saturday. “Now, the French also need strong institutions, they also need representatives who can do their job well. If Parliament decides otherwise, it is sovereign.”he added.
After a surplus year in 2022, the Elysée had exceeded its allocation of 8.3 million euros in 2023, with 125.5 million in expenses, forcing it to withdraw cash. In particular, the Court of Auditors had asked the Presidency to undertake “significant efforts starting in 2024 to restore and [de] perpetuate [son] financial balance ».
