In a transparency initiative launched by President PS, Claude Bartolone, his assignment was made public on Thursday on the Internet.
Landmarks.
What is it?
“Parliamentary reserve is a state of grants” , said on its website Internet, the National Assembly. But the term “State” should not be misled: this parliamentary reservation is powered by taxpayers. These grants should enable investment in local projects of local authorities, after deliberation of their meetings. It is also supposed to support the activities of the associations of interest public.Une way to redistribute public money. In theory.
How does it work?
Each year a budget is allocated to parliamentary reserve. First set at 90 million, it declined in 2013 and 2014 to 81,600,000. The € 8.4 million are redistributed spared since 2013, to the State for the reduction of public spending.
But that’s not the only change assigned to the parliamentary reservation. In 2012, after much controversy over the use of the reserve by parliamentary deputies, related to lack of transparency, the President of the Assembly, Claude Bartolone (PS), decided to prorate the amount of staff of parliamentary groups. “To establish for the first time equity between majority and parliamentary opposition” , he said. Above all, the assignments are now public and posted on the Assembly website since 2014.
On average, a deputy is assigned 130,000 euros. Although the modulation of this distribution belongs, ultimately, the chairman of each political group. Parliamentarians who occupy prominent positions in the Assembly get more. Thus, the Vice-Presidents of the Assembly, the quaestors, group presidents and committee chairmen each receive 260,000 euros. The President of the Assembly has, he 520 000. In addition to his parliamentary reservation, the President of the Assembly also has an “institutional reserve” supposed to accompany institutional projects of national interest. It amounted to € 5.5 million in 2014.
The Senators have, too, a parliamentary reservation. The total in 2013 was 53 million euros, divided in the same way as in the Assembly. Meeting the same need for transparency, the list of expenses has been published since 2014.
A sometimes controversial use
In theory, this public money serves initiatives of general interest. Except that, in practice, the use of the parliamentary reserve was sometimes subject to controversy.
So Jerome Cahuzac (PS), former mayor of Villeneuve-sur-Lot, which affected 1 2 million in 2011, with the eighth highest reserves of parliament. Under the departmental reserve, he also hit 250,000 euros. As two grants, this supplement has been used to restructure a car park near City Hall and road works … in Villeneuve-sur-Lot. Another question on the payment by Jerome Cahuzac 30 000, in the service of “beautifying the medieval town ‘of Pujols, where he lived at the time.
Some elected officials have not hesitated to denounce the opacity of the parliamentary reservation, according to them for local patronage. And examples abound to flow in that direction.
So, Jean-Francois Cope (UMP) has funded four projects in Meaux (Seine-et-Marne), a city of which he is the mayor 2013 Jean-Luc Warsmann (UMP) watered its common Douzy (1800 inhabitants, Ardenne) 630 600 euros. Marc Laffineur (UMP) has funded nine projects in Avrillé (Maine-et-Loire). And the examples and are very similar.
Mitigate communities absences
If the use is not dishonest, it may instead be bad. Some expenses for projects whose jurisdiction does not fall within the parliamentary reservation, but local authorities. Thus, some elected offset the lack of commitment of some communities on their own skills. In 2013, there were 408 expenses for renovation of various municipal buildings, 379 both churches, 187 for roadworks, and 41 public lighting. The president of the UMP group in the Assembly, Christian Jacob, for example, used 40% of its 360,000 euros to finance projects in the common Provins (computer roadworks and renewal of municipal services and park municipal vehicles. “
Benjamin Chabert.
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