Sarkozy pays back €14k expenses

PRESIDENT Sarkozy has paid back €14,123 to the state after an audit found certain private expenses had been paid for by the state.

The refund came immediately once the president was told about the accounting error according to a report by public auditors the Cour des Comptes.

The president has said that he was not aware that the Elysée, his state residence, had paid for the expenses and paid back the money before the publication of a report on the presidential accounts.

The audit by the Cour des Comptes is the first of its kind into the finances of a French head of state since Louis XVI.

The budget for the president was brought together under a single heading by financial legislation passed last year.

Until this change in the law the cost of the presidency was scattered across different departments and had no public accountability.

The Cour des Comptes concluded that overall the budget of the presidency, around €110 million, was well-managed but did leave room for savings.