In 2023, political parties or groups will share nearly 66.5 million euros in public aid. The distribution is largely linked to the legislative elections, and for the first time the results of the 2022 ballot have been taken into account.
How are our political parties financed? The French are not necessarily aware of this, but behind the legislative elections lies a major financial issue. State subsidies paid to political parties mainly depend on the latest renewal of the National Assembly. And for the year 2023, the results of the June 2022 elections have been integrated for the first time. Because last year, in 2022, it was still those from the 2017 legislative elections that were taken into account.
The decree indicating the distribution of this public aid in 2023 has gone somewhat unnoticed. It was published on July 11, 2023 when political news was dominated by the consequences of the riots linked to the death of young Nahel. A publication during the summer instead of the usual winter period, at the start of the calendar year, which is explained in particular by the numerous disputes relating to the legislative elections.
A parliamentarian brings in 37,000 euros, a vote 1.61 euros
In the end, nearly 66.5 million euros were distributed to around forty parties in mainland France and overseas for the year 2023. This amount of aid is governed by law and is divided into two parts. Part of it is linked to the number of elected parliamentarians (deputies and senators). In 2023, a parliamentarian brings in precisely 37,119.28 euros. According to the law, parliamentarians must declare themselves registered or attached to a political party at the office of their assembly during the month of November, in this case in November 2022. The recent senatorial elections of September 2023 were therefore not included .
The other fraction is linked to the number of votes obtained during the legislative elections. To access it, the political party must obtain 1% in at least 50 constituencies. If this threshold is exceeded, each ballot will bring money to the parties. And the “price” of a vote in 2023 is 1.61 euros. Political groups which exclusively presented one or more candidates in overseas territories must have obtained 1% of the votes cast, in all the constituencies in which they presented themselves, to have access to public assistance.
Nearly 20 million euros for the presidential majority
Although they did not obtain an absolute majority during the 2022 legislative elections, the group Ensemble pour la majority presidential – notably with Renaissance (ex-LREM), MoDem and Horizons – is in first place in the ranking thanks to its electoral results and collected a little more than 19.5 million. The 5.8 million votes obtained made it possible to obtain 8.8 million euros and the 288 parliamentarians counted (248 deputies and 40 senators) brought 10.7 million euros.
Even if it failed to elect a deputy in 2022, the Reconquest! party, which was not present in 2017, receives nearly 1.6 million euros. A sum which is mainly explained by the 950,000 votes taken into account, but also by two senators who joined the ranks of Éric Zemmour’s party. The National Rally is in second position with more than ten million euros. The far-right party doubles its allocation compared to 2022 thanks in particular to 6.8 million votes and a much larger number of elected officials, with 90 parliamentarians, while there were only eight in 2022. France insoumise sees its allocation significantly increase for the same reasons, from 4.4 million to 7.9 million euros.
Conversely, the Republicans’ poorer results in the 2022 legislative elections lead to a drop in their allocation from 13.1 million to 9.7 million. The party limits the damage, like others, thanks to its elected parliamentarians – in total there are 201 – and in particular its senators, numbering 139. But the Republicans could have earned more money if they had respected the rules of parity. Part of the grant may in fact be withdrawn in the event of non-compliance with the balance between the number of men and women candidates. With 157 women and 256 men, the LR party saw 1.3 million euros withdrawn.
Together for the presidential majority does not respect parity either. There were 264 candidates against 284 candidates. A difference of 20 elected officials which costs more than 500,000 euros. Europe Ecologie-Les Verts had 78,374.02 euros deducted from its allocation, but this time because it presented too many women (54) compared to men (51). The same goes for the party founded by Nicolas Dupont-Aignan: with 95 candidates and 84 candidates, there are more than 18,000 euros taken from him.
Alliances to respect the thresholds
This public funding is not trivial. It has become the primary source of income for many political groups ahead of donations, contributions from elected officials and even membership contributions. Presence in the legislative elections is therefore essential and small parties manage to access these public funds. For example, the last in the ranking in mainland France, The Rural Movement (formerly Hunting, Fishing, Nature and Traditions) collected nearly 88,000 euros. The Patriots, the party created by Florian Philippot after his departure from the National Front, receives nearly 200,000 euros thanks to its 123,000 votes in the legislative elections. For its part, the Animalist Party accessed more than 400,000 euros. However, as party co-president Hélène Thouy indicated to franceinfo, this sum will not necessarily reimburse the costs necessary for an election, even if it will be paid each year.
Another complaint is that the threshold necessary to receive these subsidies – at least 1% of the votes in at least 50 constituencies – is not reached by all political parties. Some small parties have no choice but to join forces and then divide the money raised. This is the case of the Pirate Party which concluded an agreement with Régions peuple et solidaires, which will receive more than one million euros in 2023. The Pirate Party indicated to franceinfo the day after the legislative elections that it could access a sum of around 20 000 euros. These technical agreements are often linked to past alliances. They are therefore not unnatural, but some can be surprising. The weekly Marianne had notably revealed that Rama Yade’s France Who Dares party had allied itself in 2017 with the Confederation for Man, Animal and Planet (CHAP), allowing the former minister to access public funding of 700 euros per month for five years.