The Elysée budget “went off the rails” in an unprecedented way in 2023, according to the Observatory of Public Ethics

It’s time for reckoning at the Elysée. The budget of the Presidency of the Republic “slipped” in 2023 in an unprecedented way, mainly due to expenses linked to travel, notes the former socialist deputy in a note René Dosiere, president of the Observatory of Public Ethics. For the current year, this budget, “voted for 114.4 million euros”, could ultimately reach “between 123 and 127 million”he underlines in a document sent on Friday October 6 to AFP.

Noting an increase “between 12 and 15%” compared to the previous year, René Dosière suggests that “it’s travel expenses that are exploding”to 23 million instead of the 16 planned, according to official estimates provided as part of the 2024 finance bill. The Élysée budget “modest abode” reduced to all public expenditure, but “the slippages of the year 2023 are however astonishing, never seen before since a presidential budget has existed”according to the president of this observatory which brings together researchers and parliamentarians “in a transpartisan framework”.

“Very strong presidential activity”

In a document annexed to the 2024 finance bill, it is specified that a set of measures to control the expenses of the presidency should allow “to bring back the 2023 landing level” from 127.4 million euros to 122.9 million euros.

The document mentions “cyclical inflationary elements” which had an impact on the expenses of the Elysée, including “the increase in unavoidable expenses such as energy prices”, “the full-year effects of the 2022 salary measures” or “the very strong presidential activity”. The presidency also faced “an increasing number of requests for price revisions in the context of its public contracts”it is specified.