The decision to increase the spending ceiling for elected representatives of the National Assembly goes down badly on the left. However, deputies consider the measure necessary in a context of inflation. “We have the impression that nothing is possible today when it affects political personnel,” regrets a Renaissance deputy.
An increase that may surprise. This Wednesday, the National Assembly increased the envelope for expenses for deputy mandates by almost 305 euros. This sum, which seeks to respond to the inflation of parliamentarians’ expenses, goes badly among the ranks of the left. Within Renaissance, we assume.
“If your professional expenses increase to take the train or have a business lunch, your employer reimburses you and that’s quite logical. It’s the same for us,” says Macronist MP Éric Woerth to BFMTV.com.
“The need to go a little higher on our spending limit”
It was also at his suggestion as quaestor of the National Assembly that the Palais-Bourbon office took up his proposal.
Concretely, this advance on mandate fees (AFM) increases from 5,645 euros to 5,950 euros. It allows MPs to pay expenses directly linked to the exercise of their mandate, such as the rental of their parliamentary office, their transport trips or even their hotel rooms.
Related Renaissance MP Stéphane Vojetta is on the same wavelength as his college.
“We sometimes need to be able to go a little higher on our spending ceiling. I do a lot of traveling with foreign airlines and I had to borrow money from the National Assembly,” explains the elected representative of French people abroad who divides his time between Spain, Portugal and Paris.
Expenses controlled at least once in 5 years
“Rent places to meet residents, organize meetings with associations, have parliamentary premises. It’s not free, it costs money,” judges Stéphane Vojetta.
Very concretely, each expense incurred by the MP must be accompanied by financial proof such as a receipt or an invoice and must be directly linked to the exercise of the mandate.
If at the end of their mandate the deputies have not used all the available envelope, they must return the unspent sums to the National Assembly. Each deputy is also checked at least once per mandate on his actions by the ethics officer of the National Assembly.
“The deputies allow themselves an increase in their own budget”
This system, launched in 2018, replaced the representation allowance with mandate fees. Its amount was 6,109 euros in 2017 and was freely available to deputies. Several scandals have marred its use in recent years.
On the left, several elected officials quickly realized that the symbol might go badly, between inflation, rising electricity prices and the anger of farmers, often faced with very low pay. Socialist MP Valérie Rabault expressed her reservations before the deliberation but was not present during the vote.
Only La France insoumise abstained. One of his deputies François Ruffin denounced on BFMTV and expressed his anger.
“What seems shocking to me in this decision is that we are in an Assembly which refuses (to vote for) the indexation of salaries to inflation. And in this context, the deputies allow themselves an increase of their own budget”, said the elected official from the Somme.
“I will pay these 300 euros to Solidarité Paysans, which provides help to their colleagues in difficulty,” says the MP.
“Let us not be out of pocket”
This donation seems complicated on paper, this association which notably works to prevent suicide among farmers not being directly linked to François Ruffin’s mandate costs.
Obviously aware that the increase in the AFM might go down badly with the French, the RN is reversing course. If Sébastien Chenu and Hélène Laporte, two of its representative members at the office of the National Assembly voted for Wednesday, they now regret their decision.
This increase “rightly arouses a certain emotion among our compatriots in a period when the purchasing power of many French people is very degraded”, they wrote in a press release, asking for a postponement of the measure “sine die”.
“We have not increased our parliamentary allowance but just the possibility of being better reimbursed and not having to pay out of pocket. We have the impression that nothing is possible today when it affects the political staff”, sighs a Macronist for his part.
“Not an increase in the remuneration of parliamentarians”
MPs currently receive 7,637 euros gross monthly or 5,953 euros net. This amount has not been increased for years. When questioned, the President of the National Assembly said she “understands the emotion”.
“This question was raised: is it appropriate to do it now? We agreed that it was appropriate,” declared Yaël Braun-Pivet during his vows
“We would never, in the current context, have voted for an increase in the remuneration of parliamentarians. Let us be clear. We voted unanimously to increase the ceiling on our mandate costs. It is very different,” said the tenant of the Perchoir.
“The price of democracy”
“I understand that the timing is not good,” recognizes Renaissance MP Stéphane Vojetta, who calls “not to mix everything up.”
“If we want parliamentary staff who work well, we have to give them the means. So here, we are simply given the means to work. This is also the price of democracy,” assures the elected official.
Enough to convince? The maneuver raised eyebrows well beyond the opposition. The union of parliamentary collaborators, which includes deputies from all sides, was surprised by this decision.
“The Assembly refuses, on the grounds that it would cost the institution too much, to increase employee credit,” regretted the union.
MPs currently have an envelope of 11,000 euros per month to pay their colleagues.
