A first controversy just a few days after his appointment as Prime Minister. François Bayrou went this Monday, December 16 to Pau, the city of which he remained mayor, to chair the municipal council. His decision to combine several functions caused controversy, since at the same time a crisis meeting took place on the situation in Mayotte, devastated after the passage of Cyclone Chido.
François Bayrou also has other functions, and can legally receive the various compensation corresponding to the positions held. We take stock of his situation.
What functions does François Bayrou have?
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Mayor of Pau : Elected mayor of Pau since 2014, François Bayrou has decided to retain this mandate. Unlike his predecessors, such as Édouard Philippe or Jean Castex, he chose not to resign from this position, a decision which recalls older practices: Jacques Chirac remained mayor of Paris while he was prime minister from 1986 to 1988 , just as Alain Juppé also remained in Bordeaux from 1995 to 1997, as noted by La Voix du Nord.
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High Commissioner for Planning : This strategic position, which he has held since 2020, is currently maintained, even if his exercise is free of charge. It is responsible for “leading and coordinating the planning and prospective thinking work carried out on behalf of the State and informing the choices of public authorities with regard to demographic, economic, social, environmental, health and technological issues. and cultural” according to the government website.
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President of MoDem and the European Democratic Party : Bayrou remains at the head of these two political parties (the MoDem since 2007 and the European Democratic Party since 2004), although no remuneration is attached to these functions.
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President of the Pau Béarn-Pyrénées urban community : In addition to his role as mayor, he has overseen the broader territorial organization around Pau since 2014.
What does the law say about this combination of functions?
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Legality of accumulation : Article 23 of the Constitution prohibits the accumulation of a ministerial mandate with a parliamentary function (senator or deputy), but not with a local function, such as that of mayor. François Bayrou therefore remains within a legal framework.
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Historical cases : The combination of Prime Minister and mayor has been rare since the 1990s, which places François Bayrou in an atypical and potentially controversial situation. We could see this on Monday with his decision, much criticized on the left and even in his own camp, to favor the municipal council of Pau, where he went physically, rather than the crisis meeting to discuss the situation in Mayotte.
The Prime Minister justified his decision to BFM TV by invoking the need to maintain a link between local elected officials and citizens, affirming that the strict separation between local and national responsibilities creates a “social rupture”.
Can François Bayrou accumulate compensation?
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National allowances : The Prime Minister receives 16,038 euros gross monthly, including salary, residence allowance and benefits in kind, as detailed by La Voix du Nord.
“The monthly gross salary of a Prime Minister is set at 12,457 euros, to which must be added a residence allowance of 373 euros and a function allowance of 3,207 euros (…) This gives a total of 16,038 gross euros per month (without forgetting the various advantages including official residence)” calculates the press title. -
Local allowances: The accumulation of compensation for local elected officials is capped: an elected official cannot receive more than one and a half times the amount of the basic parliamentary compensation, i.e. 8,434 euros. But, in theory, nothing prohibits the accumulation of compensation for a national and local function.
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Salary before taking office: Before being appointed Prime Minister, François Bayrou had a gross salary estimated at 7,767.14 euros, including his mayoral allowance (4,694.51 euros gross per month) and his agglomeration community president allowance (3,072. 63 euros gross per month).
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Personal decision : If he chooses to combine functions, François Bayrou affirmed that he would give up his mayoral allowance to avoid any financial accumulation. As for his functions as High Commissioner for Planning, President of Modem and the European Democratic Party, they are not paid.
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