Prime Minister for several days, François Bayrou is already the target of criticism on several subjects. But all controversies have a single starting point.
After a stormy appointment to Matignon, François Bayrou’s first days as Prime Minister are also eventful. Installed at the head of government since December 13, the boss of MoDem must work on the casting of his ministers and manage the consequences of a cyclone in Mayotte, but he must also face several controversies that have arisen in recent hours. Strong criticism which all has the same starting point: François Bayrou’s trip to Pau, the city of which he is mayor, on Monday December 16.
An expensive trip to Pau…
First hook: the mode of transport chosen by the Prime Minister. The centrist linked the capital and the Pyrénées-Atlantiques prefecture by private jet for a flight of around fifty minutes. A choice which aroused the ire of a large number of left-wing elected officials who decried the carbon footprint of such a journey during which 800 kg of fuel were consumed according to BFMTV, but who were especially indignant at the cost of the trip. The rebellious deputy Sébastien Delogu indicated X that the estimated cost of a two-hour journey on the jet used is around 12,000 euros. According to these estimates corroborated by the site Jet-MilesFrançois Bayrou’s journey would therefore have cost around 6,000 euros “not counting the cost of security and the team that accompanies him”, however, recalls the elected official.
A budget considered too large, especially given the economic context which involves making savings and complicates the vote on a budget for 2025. François Bayrou defended himself from having misused public funds for his trip to Pau on BFMTV : “I never abuse the means of the State. Ministers, Prime Ministers and Presidents of the Republic are accompanied by security services (…) it is obviously easier than finding airliners” , he justified.
…and not a priority against Mayotte
More than the cost, it is the context in which François Bayrou’s trip took place which creates the controversy. The Prime Minister went to Pau to participate and chair the municipal council, while at the same time the resigning Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, was in Mayotte to take stock of the situation after a historic cyclone hit the archipelago. Although he was not there, the Prime Minister did not attend in person the crisis meeting organized around Emmanuel Macron on Monday evening. He participated in the discussions by videoconference. Absences perceived by some, most often from the left, as a lack of consideration. An opinion which is also heard in Macronie: “I would have preferred that the Prime Minister took the plane to Mayotte”, declared the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet, on Franceinfo the day after the controversial trip.
The question of the accumulation of mandates
François Bayrou’s trip to Pau finally raises one last question: that of the accumulation of mandates. New controversy in sight. The head of government declared that he will remain mayor of Pau in parallel with his appointment to Matignon. He has the right to do so since the law only prohibits members of the government from combining their function with a parliamentary mandate, that is to say as senator or deputy. However, no Prime Minister has held a mandate since 1995 when Alain Juppé was mayor of Bordeaux in addition to being head of government. On the contrary, many people gave up being mayor when they were serving in Matignon: Jean-Marc Ayrault in Nantes, Jean Castex in Prades or even Édouard Philippe in Le Havre.
François Bayrou’s decision is all the more surprising given that the head of MoDem was one of the first to oppose the accumulation of mandates when the question arose in 2007, particularly for parliamentarians elected at the head of a local executive. Today, he is doing an about-face as if to justify his choice to combine the roles of Prime Minister and Mayor of Pau. “We made a mistake in [rendant] incompatible local and national responsibilities, it is an error… For members of government, it is authorized, for parliamentarians, no. I think this debate must be resumed,” declared François Bayrou during his municipal council meeting after The Parisian. He plans to talk about it again during his general policy speech.
To justify this turnaround, François Bayrou believes that “we must re-root political responsibilities, in villages, neighborhoods, cities” and therefore parliamentarians with local commitments to break the “glass wall” between “the base of the French company […] and the circles of power”. He also intends to encourage “future members of the government [à] keep their mandates and [suggérer] others to have a small branch on the ground”. The fact remains that the accumulation of mandates is far from unanimous. With so many controversies in such a short time, the Prime Minister is not making friends , nor support.