Did Raphaël Glucksmann, Valérie Hayer and François-Xavier Bellamy receive thousands of euros in “ancillary remuneration”, as Manon Aubry claims?

Receiving additional income as an MEP necessarily means being paid by lobbies? The question arises after a controversial tweet from Manon Aubry, the head of the list of La France insoumise in the European elections, published Friday May 3. The outgoing MEP states that“a quarter of European deputies are paid by lobbies, companies or governments in addition to their elected compensation”. And the chosen one to propose“prohibit these additional remunerations”. A proposal that she also makes in a column published in Release .

This message is accompanied by a visual on which appear three rival lists of Manon Aubry : Raphaël Glucksmann (PS-Place publique), Valérie Hayer (Renaissance) and François-Xavier Bellamy (Les Républicains). “These deputies are full of their loved ones in addition to their elected compensation”, accuses the leaflet. Amounts are written under each person’s photo: “between 12,000 and 60,000 euros” for the first two and “between 12,000 and 66,000 euros” for the right-wing candidate, against “0” euros for Manon Aubry.

At the bottom right of the visual, a mention specifies that it is “additional remuneration declared per year”. Without specifying what type of emoluments it is. However, a source is indicated: Integritywatch.eu, a site of the NGO Transparency International, which monitors the work of lobbies registered in Brussels but also the income declared by MEPs.

It was enough to provoke the anger of Olivier Faure, the first secretary of the Socialist Party, who denounced “fake news” and sees in the sequence of these publications aimed at his candidate “the method of all the scoundrels like [Donald] Trump.” He rocks on that Raphaël Glucksmann’s ancillary income is royalties received from the sale of his books. According to him, “Le text [de Manon Aubry] who accompanies [le visuel] is written to induce suspicion”. What is it really?

Income declared by elected officials

When Manon Aubry posted her message, Integritywatch.eu was no longer accessible online, with the NGO updating its database at the same time. The MEP therefore sends Internet users back to an archived version of the platform on the website Web.archive.org. Transparency International establishes ranges for minimum and maximum ancillary remuneration. They are between 12,012 and 60,000 euros for Raphaël Glucksmann and Valérie Hayer and between 12,024 and 65,988 euros for François-Xavier Bellamy. For Manon Aubry, the amount is 0 euros.

These ranges were calculated by the NGO based on the declarations of private interests of each MEP transmitted to the European Parliament, an obligatory work of transparency for these elected officials. In these declarations, they list the activities, some of which are paid, that they carry out in parallel with their European mandate. The precise amounts of their possible remuneration are however not recorded, but replaced by five ranges. From these amounts reported in gross monthly euros, Transparency International calculated an annual estimate.

Copyright and parallel mandate

Raphaël Glucksmann actually declares that he receives between 1,001 and 5,000 euros monthly in royalties, or between 12,000 and 60,000 euros annually, according to his declaration of financial interests (the former name of the declaration of private interests) dated September 2023. A source of income confirmed by its publishing house. “ Raphaël Glucksmann’s additional income come from Allary Editions, an independent publishing house where he publishes all his essays.she defends on. To franceinfo, those around him say they do not want “lose time to comment on fake news from LFI”.

For his part, François-Xavier Bellamy also declares that he only received royalties, in the same proportions as his opponent from PS-Place publique, according to his statement from July 2019. He also specified that he had engaged in speaking activity, but not paid. As for Valérie Hayer, she was also paid between 1,001 and 5,000 euros monthly, or between 12,000 and 60,000 euros annually, but this time as part of her duties as departmental advisor until 2021, according to her declaration of May 2022. Finally, Manon Aubry assures that she has no activity in parallel with her duties as MEP, in the document provided to Parliament in December 2023.

More or less current figures

Besides the fact that these additional remunerations are legal and have been declared, the figures used by Manon Aubry are not always current. The ranges mentioned in the visual correspond to sometimes old declarations of private interests for certain MEPs. Transparency International updated its platform on Sunday, with the latest declarations, dated December 2023, which now display precise amounts and no longer ranges.

From now on, Valérie Hayer does not declare any additional income. A relative of MEP Renaissance deplores to franceinfo a visual “unspeakably rude”. On the one hand, because Valérie Hayer received departmental advisor allowances “at the start of his European mandate”, but not anymore. On the other hand, because this money received by the elected “East presented as if this were shameful, lamentable, even outside the legal framework, which is not absolutely not” reality.

Raphaël Glucksmann receives 48,000 euros annually, always for royalties. François-Xavier Bellamy, for his part, declares 36,328 euros annually through the sale of his books. Contacted by franceinfo, those around him do not wish to react to the remarks of the rebellious MEP and prefer to refer to the declarations of private interests cited above: “There is only one line concerning François-Xavier Bellamy’s parallel income, which corresponds to his royalties for published books.”

Income “acceptable or not”

For the three heads of the rival rebel lists, their declarations of interests therefore confirm the existence of additional remuneration, but without links to lobbies, companies or governments. For her part, Manon Aubry does not declare any additional activity or remuneration. Contacted by franceinfo, the MEP from La France insoumise provided the following explanations after the publication of this article. “The amounts indicated on the visual were true to date, since these figures were only updated this weekend”she justifies.

On the nature of additional remuneration, “it is up to everyone to justify whether they are acceptable or not”declares the one who admits that all “are not equal”. The rebellious elected official explains that the aim of her publication was “to shed light on a common practice in the European Parliament”. She invites again “the other heads of the list” to commit to ensuring that no MEP can “receive the slightest euro from foreign lobbies, companies or governments”.