At the start of the week, the new Prime Minister François Bayrou went to Pau to the municipal council of the Pyrenean town. But his move has attracted a lot of criticism.
Recently appointed by Emmanuel Macron, the tenant of Matignon François Bayrou is still exploring certain avenues to form a government. The new Prime Minister must also face, upon taking office, an unprecedented crisis in Mayotte. However, this Monday, he went to Pau to attend the municipal council of Pau, a city of which he has been mayor for more than 10 years. But this Pyrenean getaway has earned it a lot of criticism for many reasons.
“For us, the Falcon is a taxi like any other”
What is controversial is the cost of this plane ride. In total, seven planes, Dassault Falcon 7X, are available to the Head of State and the Prime Minister. It was with this device that François Bayrou left the capital to go to Pau, separated by 800 kilometers.
Beyond the financial cost, the environmental impact is not the least. The trip lasted 52 minutes, the plane consumed 800 kg of fuel and cost nearly 18,000 euros, indicates France Infoaccording to ministerial sources.
“When you are Prime Minister, you are there 24 hours a day”justified a parliamentarian. For a veteran of Matignon, the use of planes is essential. “It may sound crazy, but for us the Falcon is a taxi like any other.”
François Bayrou reacted to this controversy. “I chaired the municipal council of my city from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. I consider that, in doing so, I was also in my place as a citizen and I intend to defend this idea that citizenship is not does not divide between being in Paris and fulfilling one’s responsibilities as a citizen on the ground.”he justified himself.
“Pau is in France”
“Faced with such a disaster, it is important to be alongside the populations” and “in this type of circumstance, we must be 100% mobilized in crisis management“, estimated the President of the National Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet, adding that she would have “preferred that the Prime Minister take the plane to Mayotte”.
If some pointed out his presence in the room, telling him that he should rather be in Mayotte, there again, the Prime Minister has an answer. “Pau is in France”he defended himself Tuesday before deputies in the National Assembly.
