Elysée budget has soared nearly 20%

AN “explosion of expenditure” has seen the budget for running the Elysée soaring nearly 20% over the last year, according to a Socialist deputy who is a specialist on presidential financial affairs.

René Dosière has been studying the cost of running President Sarkozy’s life and office and says the promised transparency – the budget has been put together in one document for the first time – is a broken promise.

He cuttingly adds: “The Elysée has done too much literature and not enough mathematics.”

Mr Dosière said the published budget had been “manipulated” and stood at 113million – 3m more than Parliament had voted for. It was also 18.5% more than had been spent in 2007 and had risen, proportionally, seven times more than the state budget.

As for transparency, Mr Dosière asked why the budget rolled receptions, food, telephone, postal costs, fuel and electricity together with computer and office expenses - for an expenditure totalling 26m.

He also said there were varying numbers given for the number of people working at the Elysée: six different responses for the end of 2007 (from 860 to 882 people). There were 1031 staff at the end of 2008, though this had since been cut to 953.

The Elysée has rebutted his claims saying the publication of the budget was “sincere and transparent”.

Christian Frémont, a close aide of Mr Sarkozy and chief of his office, said Mr Dosière’s study was worth nothing as there had never previously been a presidential budget so there was no way he could say costs had risen.

Previously the Elysée had taken money from different departments as it was needed “some from the interior ministry, some from the foreign ministry, some from the defence ministry”.

Photo:Medef