As soon as the presidential election was over, negotiations between the parties started for the legislative elections, the vote of which is scheduled for June 12 and 19 for the first and then the second round. This election obviously represents a major political issue. Each political formation hopes to weigh as much as possible by electing a maximum of deputies. But there is also a very important financial dimension. The results will decide how much the parties will receive in the next five years from the state. And here too, the stakes are immense, and it sheds new light on the negotiations between parties around the constituencies. Whether for those that are considered “winnable” or, failing that, those where an honorable score is achievable.
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Since the laws on the financing of political life of 1988 and 1990, the financing of political parties is public, and private financing is regulated. Thus, since 2017, the date of the last elections which determined the composition of the National Assembly current, more than 65 million euros have been donated every year to 16 parties, from La République en Marche to the Animalist Party. This public funding is therefore governed by law and, proof of its importance, it has become the main source of income for political parties, far ahead of donations, contributions from elected officials or membership fees. Concretely the aid is divided into two parts. One is based on the electoral results, the other on the number of elected.
Election results
For the first fraction, what counts are the votes cast in the legislative elections. The ballot that you will slip into the envelope will bring in a little more than 1.60 euros each year for five years for your candidate’s party, even if he is not elected. To receive this aid, it suffices that its formation makes its accounts public and that its candidates have collected at least 1% of the votes cast in at least 50 constituencies. The distribution is made in proportion to the number of votes obtained in the first round.
And on arrival, the sums are far from being anecdotal. In the 2017 legislative elections, LREM, which was then a very young party, thus obtained a little over six million votes, which has provided it with around 10 million euros every year. At the bottom of the ranking, with 63,679 votes taken into account, the Animalist Party received 67,186 euros in aid in 2022. It could have received more if it had respected parity and presented as many men as women.
Part of the allocation can indeed be withdrawn in the event of non-compliance with parity. Six parties suffered this penalty after the 2017 legislative elections, including the Animal Party (-37,325 euros). The Republicans see their aid decrease by nearly 1.8 million euros per year for not having presented enough women, and La France insoumise by 252,443 euros.
In total, 32,081,868.13 euros were paid under this fraction in 2022.
The number of elected
The number of parliamentarians (deputies, senators) will determine the second fraction of public aid. In 2022, each parliamentarian (deputy as senator) brought in just over 37,000 euros for his party. And here again, the sums can be significant. The Republic on the Move (LREM), which has the majority in the Assembly with 267 deputies (263 members and 4 relatives), receives 10.9 million euros. The Republicans who retain a large contingent of senators receive just over 9 million euros.
This calculation of the number of elected officials is, on the other hand, unfavorable to the National Rally. Third in number of votes, the party only managed to elect eight deputies, which triggers aid of 299,000 euros per year out of a total of 5.2 million. Conversely, the Union of Independent Democrats (UDI), for which only 635,204 votes were taken into account for the first fraction, can count on a strong contingent of elected officials (22 deputies, 56 senators) to achieve a total of almost 4 million in public aid.
In total, 34,037,738.28 euros were paid under this fraction in 2022. This aid may vary from one year to the next, if an elected representative changes group, for example: to be counted on behalf of a party or a political grouping, an elected official must have declared that he is registered or attached to it “during the month of November”. And it is the list communicated before December 31 by the office of the National Assembly and the office of the Senate and published in the Official newspaper which refers to.