Reduction in expenses of former ministers: Élisabeth Borne opposes the “efforts” requested by Michel Barnier

A request that is not to everyone's taste. In search of significant savings for its 2025 budget, the executive last week called on former ministers and in particular prime ministers to make “efforts” on the costs of the various benefits available to them after their mandate, covered by taxpayers. Invited on Sunday on France 3, Élisabeth Borne made her opposition known.

“What is taken care of, when you are a former Prime Minister, is a car which accompanies the protection, the security which is assured to you”, explained the first head of government of the second five-year term of Emmanuel Macron (2022 -2024), before launching, in a scathing tone: “If Michel Barnier thinks that I have no security problems…”

The former Prime Minister considered that “protection and security seemed appropriate”, given the “not all popular” reforms that she carried out during her mandate, citing pension reform or immigration reform.

Élisabeth Borne's statement comes at a time when, according to our information, the Prime Minister asked Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau to tackle the police protection enjoyed by “use and often without time limit” by former Prime Ministers. ministers or ministers of the Interior. Around forty ministers would be affected.

This police protection comes at a significant cost. According to a calculation carried out in 2024 by a commissioner of the Sub-Directorate for Personal Protection (SDLP), these missions of convenience would cost 23,000 euros per police officer. Removing them would save 4 million euros per year, and recover around 70 police officers who could carry out other, more sensitive missions.

Parliamentary work relayed by several media last week also revealed an increase in expenditure by former Prime Ministers. Over the past year, this expenditure at taxpayers' expense increased to 1.42 million euros, compared to 1.28 million euros in 2022, an increase of 11%. The last two tenants of Matignon before Michel Barnier, Élisabeth Borne and Gabriel Attal, do not appear in the report for 2023.