Sunday, June 10, in addition to the political issue, it is a financial fight that is being played out at the ballot box. Because for each vote collected, the political parties will receive annual public aid for five years: in 2022, each ballot brings in €1.64.
The parties that are eligible for this aid are those whose candidates obtain more than one percent of the votes in the first round, in at least 50 of the 577 constituencies. But there is an exception: in Overseas, it is enough to reach one percent of the votes in a single constituency to receive public money.
The party that received the most is La République en Marche: in 2017, its 6,152,257 votes gave it the right to more than 10 million euros per year during its mandate. The smallest sum goes to the micro-party “Vivre La Réunion”: with only 879 votes obtained five years ago, it received 1442 euros per year.
If the votes bring public money to the parties each year, so do the deputies: precisely 37,402 euros per elected parliamentarian. Cash inflows which, put together, represent 66 million euros redistributed to political parties each year. Nearly a third returned to the presidential party during the last term.
On Sunday, the candidates therefore have every interest in getting their fill of votes in the elections to fill the hemicycle… but also the accounts of their parties, and thus finance political life.
Decree No. 2022-94
Opinion of 16 December 2021, National Commission for Campaign Accounts and Political Financing
“For political parties, the conditions of public financing depend largely on the legislative elections”, Patrick Roger, The worldMay 18, 2022
Non-exhaustive list.