The Élysée announced Tuesday that it would not ask for an increase in its endowment for 2025 after the controversy aroused by the increase in its budget, ensuring that it wants to “give an example” as the National Assembly and the Senate, which will renounce also to their credit increases.
While “the government has announced many savings”, “the head of state wants the Presidency of the Republic to give an example,” said the Élysée in a statement. The presidency credits had to drop from 122.6 million euros to 125.7 million, an increase of 2.5%, greater than the overall price increase in 2025 by the draft budget (1.8% medium inflation).
The economy offered by the presidency will therefore be around three million euros for the state budget.
The two chambers of Parliament also announced a budgetary effort via a press release from their presidents Yaël Braun-Pivet (Assembly) and Gérard Larcher (Senate): the National Assembly as the Senate will propose during the budgetary debates of the fall to renounce to indexing the allocation of the Parliament on the inflation rate.
“It is normal and essential that the two assemblies participate in the effort requested from everyone to rectify the public finances of our country,” assure the presidents of the two chambers.
These had approved in recent months the increase in their endowment by 1.7% for 2025, bringing it to around 618 million euros for the National Assembly and 359 million for the Senate.
This decision – which will still have to be adopted by Parliament during the examination of the finance bill for 2025 – will therefore allow savings of the order of 16 million euros cumulated for the two assemblies.
The increase in the granting of the presidency and the parliament had aroused many questions in recent days, in a context of deep degradation of the France’s budgetary situation, and while efforts will be requested by the government to a number of sectors of ‘Activity and administrations.
“I understand that it questions and that the debate exists on this,” noted the Minister of Public Accounts Laurent Saint-Martin on TF1 on Saturday. “Now the French also need solid institutions, also need representatives who can do their job well. If parliament decides otherwise, it is sovereign, “he added.
After an excess exercise in 2022, the Élysée had exceeded in 2023 its allocation of 8.3 million euros, with 125.5 million charges, which had made a cash levy. The Court of Auditors had notably called the presidency to undertake “significant efforts from 2024 in order to restore and perpetuate (sound) financial balance”.
