It’s time for clarification. From Friday March 18, members of the government will enter the so-called period “reserve”, so as not to interfere with the election campaign. According to the rules recalled by the General Secretariat of the Government (SGG) in a circular of February 10, members of the government must now “refrain from traveling in the performance of their duties”. The SGG recalls that any member of the government “must not intervene in the electoral campaign or provide support to a candidate when he speaks officially”. This is not a legal obligation, but a “republican use”according to the Ministry of the Interior.
Some derogations remain possible, on condition of obtaining the prior authorization of the Prime Minister, “if the trip is justified by an exceptional event” or by a “event of which the minister does not control the date”. In the first case, there is, for example, a possible attack which would require the immediate presence on the spot of the Minister of the Interior. In the second enter in particular the “public commemorations”.
The SGG specifies that official visits by foreign leaders to France remain possible. Ministers can also travel abroad as long as it fits “in the diplomatic action of France”.
“Things are clear”
However, the reserve period “does not prohibit the travel of ministers, as political figures”to participate in meetings, for example. “These trips must be scheduled in such a way that there can be no confusion with their government activities”advocates the SGG, excluding any “use of public means, in particular in terms of transport”. On the point of vehicles, exceptions may be granted, ” For safety reasons “ in particular, on condition that the costs incurred are reimbursed.
The SGG also warns departments about the case of employees and their own participation in an election campaign, mentioning the risks of “controversies over this combination”. This participation, the related costs of which must also be included in the accounts, “can only be admitted outside working hours or on annual leave. In this respect, it seems difficult to exceed the duration of ten working days..
Friday morning, on RMC-BFM-TVGabriel Attal noticed that “this is not the first time in history that an outgoing president is a candidate for re-election, and that ministers can support his candidacy”. And the government spokesperson to engage in a little pedagogy:
Tomorrow I will be at a meeting in Montpellier with my colleague Roselyne Bachelot. It is obviously the organization of the campaign which finances the trip, and the activists who drive us by car from the station to the meeting. All this has been very organized for a very long time, and things are clear.
The Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, is also expected at a meeting in Nice on Wednesday. His plane will be paid for by Mr. Macron’s campaign team, he will have to take a taxi on arrival and the adviser who accompanies him assured that he had asked for a vacation day.
This is to prevent the executive from any accusation of using state resources as the presidential campaign enters its home stretch. On March 11, the Head of State himself was lectured by the National Commission for the Control of the Electoral Campaign for the Presidential Election (CNCCEP), for having posted his candidacy letter on his official Twitter account of Head of State, followed by 7.9 million subscribers.