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I just loved the banner to one of the Guardian’s articles today - Liberté, égalité … austérité?
It relates to the clampdown by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on ministerial perks. He has told ministers to tighten their belts and has cancelled his own summer garden party as part of the cutbacks.
It seems that France has had its own spate of scandals over ministerial perks, and ministers have now been told to rein in their excesses. Such as one minister who charged €12,000 for cigars during a 10-month period, another who hired a private jet for an official trip to Martinique at a cost of €116,500 and the sports minister who criticised the French football team for living it up in a five-star hotel in South Africa during the World Cup, while she and five of her staff were booked into an even more expensive hotel.
Sarkozy has also said that he is doing away with 10,000 government vehicles and 7,000 official lodgings used by ministers, officials and other state employees. Austérité indeed!
However, Sarkozy is not giving up the presidential weekend retreat at Versailles or the state's seaside residence in Provence or the holiday home, the Chateau de Rambouillet. Nor will he be giving up the specially adapted Airbus A330, recently acquired at a cost of €180 millions!.
I suppose though, that abandoning the annual garden party is a type of Presidential austerity!
.
I just loved the banner to one of the Guardian’s articles today - Liberté, égalité … austérité?
It relates to the clampdown by French President Nicolas Sarkozy on ministerial perks. He has told ministers to tighten their belts and has cancelled his own summer garden party as part of the cutbacks.
It seems that France has had its own spate of scandals over ministerial perks, and ministers have now been told to rein in their excesses. Such as one minister who charged €12,000 for cigars during a 10-month period, another who hired a private jet for an official trip to Martinique at a cost of €116,500 and the sports minister who criticised the French football team for living it up in a five-star hotel in South Africa during the World Cup, while she and five of her staff were booked into an even more expensive hotel.
Sarkozy has also said that he is doing away with 10,000 government vehicles and 7,000 official lodgings used by ministers, officials and other state employees. Austérité indeed!
However, Sarkozy is not giving up the presidential weekend retreat at Versailles or the state's seaside residence in Provence or the holiday home, the Chateau de Rambouillet. Nor will he be giving up the specially adapted Airbus A330, recently acquired at a cost of €180 millions!.
I suppose though, that abandoning the annual garden party is a type of Presidential austerity!
.
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