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The French Environment Minister is under pressure after an investigation site claimed that he had organized sumptuous social lobster dinners and fine wines paid for by the taxpayer while the ## 147 ### ### ############################################################################### 39, he was Speaker of Parliament while making expensive renovations to his official residence.
The investigation website Mediapart said that François de Rugy had organized a dozen luxury dinners between 2017 and 2018 in his official residence in a historic building in Paris.
The website, which published the photo of a giant lobster platter on a candlelit table during a dinner, said that meals for 10 to 30 guests were events for De's social circle. Rugy organized by his wife, journalist at "Celebrity" magazine. Gala.
On the menu, luxury, seashells, champagne, vintage wines and vintage wines from the French Parliament wine cellar costing up to € 500 a bottle.
De Rugy, a former environmental activist from the aristocratic background who had joined Macron's centrist party during the 2017 presidential campaign, did not deny the dinners but insisted that they were linked to his work as a speaker and not at social events.
"These were not dinners with friends. These were informal working dinners with people having relationships with a political authority, "said De Rugy, adding that the Mediapart survey was" misleading "and" tendentious ".
The line is damaging because De Rugy is currently leading Emmanuel Macron's environmental policy at a time when the government is under pressure to reduce costs and waste, after being accused of not acting too much to fight the emergency. climate.
It also comes as Macron and his centrist government seek to recover from more than six months of yellow vests (yellow jackets) anti-government protests sparked by economic inequality and claiming that French politicians are disconnected from ordinary people.
De Rugy has published a long answer written on his Facebook page about what he called the "attacks against me", claiming that he was dedicated to "transparency" in political life. He stated that the "informal dinners" were related to his work as president and that he had taken advantage of these events to engage with civil society personalities to inform his "variety of public works" in as Speaker of Parliament.
Government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye said De Rugy had the support of the prime minister and the president. She added that the work of Mr de Rugy as President of Parliament would have sometimes required various forms of contact with members of civil society.
Aurore Bergé, a politician from Macron's Republican Party, said that Mr. De Rugy had given Parliament's ethics committee a list of all his guests who would check if they were legitimate. If they were not legitimate, he should repay the bill himself.
Mediapart released a second investigation alleging that De Rugy and his wife had made € 63,000 worth of renovation work paid for by the taxpayer in his official residence at the Ministry of the Environment for "comfort". The website said the expensive renovation, which included painting, carpeting and built-in cabinetry was not essential.
De Rugy said in a written statement that the renovations had been necessary for the apartments of a historic building because some rooms were in poor condition. He said that overall he had reduced costs to the department.
Nicole Klein, chief of staff at the De Rugy office at the Ministry of the Environment, resigned this week after Mediapart claimed to have kept social housing in Paris at a time when she was no longer living in the capital. Klein told the website that his housing situation was legal.
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