Following the publication of an article by Mediapart which calls into question the air travel of Prime Minister Jean Castex, government spokesman Gabriel Attal responded to criticism. “I believe that the French are not fooled by the false controversies around a handful of trips out of the 315 that the Prime Minister has made since his arrival at Matignon (in July 2020)”, he launched at the exit. of the Council of Ministers, this Wednesday
“The Prime Minister is fond of one thing, trips to the field and meetings with the French, he has shown it since his arrival at Matignon”, justified Gabriel Attal, specifying that these “315 trips in barely 18 months” implied “a certain logistics” and “three imperatives”.
Plane trips to Nantes, Lyon or Caen
The government spokesman listed “a security imperative” since “for each trip the Prime Minister is accompanied in particular by security officers and a doctor”, “an imperative of availability” because “he must be able to return to Matignon at any time in the event of a crisis” and finally an “imperative of time management because the Prime Minister must be able to reconcile the follow-up of the files and his desire to be in maximum contact with the French”. And to add: “I want to remind you (…) that there is no explosion in travel expenses, on the contrary. »
In an article entitled “Jean Castex: an immoderate passion for the jets of the Republic”, Mediapart writes that “the former mayor of Prades frantically uses the Falcons of transport squadron 00.060, aircraft of a unit of the army that members of the executive can hire, especially for long journeys or emergencies”. The investigative media reveals in particular that the Prime Minister favored private planes to go to Nantes, Bordeaux, Lyon, Caen or even Angoulême, cities less than three hours from Paris by train.
The media recalls that Jean Castex nevertheless signed a circular on November 13, 2020 on the commitment of the State and its agents for the need for “exemplary behavior of public actors in this approach of ecological sobriety”. “The air route can only be authorized when the journey time by rail is greater than three hours”, can we read in particular in this official document.