François de Rugy

Dinners organised while François de Rugy presided over the National Assembly, featuring lobsters and fine wines, were presented as official meals or related to his work. Press revelations nevertheless questioned the professional nature of several of them and sparked national controversy over public officials' lifestyles.

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Directly implicated

Approximately €64 000 of renovation work was carried out at François de Rugy's official residence at the Ministry for Ecological Transition, including a dressing room costing several thousand euros. The amounts caused controversy over the proportionality of public expenditure.

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Directly implicated

François de Rugy and his wife occupied a property in Orvault whose owner had purchased it under the intermediate Scellier tax scheme, which imposed rent and income limits. The revelation fuelled allegations that a minister had benefited from accommodation on favourable terms.

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Directly implicated

On 16 July 2019, François de Rugy resigned as Minister for Ecological Transition following several days of revelations about his dinners, official residence and previous financial practices. He also announced a defamation complaint against Mediapart.

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Political responsibility

Under François de Rugy's presidency, the Bureau of the National Assembly clarified its general instructions to prohibit conspicuous religious symbols, uniforms and the use of clothing to convey political messages in the chamber. The measure sparked debate over MPs' freedom of expression.

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Direct responsibility

After becoming Minister for Ecological Transition, François de Rugy accepted postponing the target to reduce nuclear power's share of electricity generation to 50 %, originally scheduled for 2025, to a later date. Environmentalists strongly criticised the decision given his previous anti-nuclear stance.

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Political responsibility

As a candidate in the left-wing primary, François de Rugy had signed a commitment to support the winner. After Benoît Hamon won, however, he announced support for Emmanuel Macron, prompting accusations of breaking his word and condemnation as a 'moral failing' by Socialist figures.

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Political responsibility

While a Green MP, François de Rugy used his parliamentary expenses allowance (IRFM) to pay EELV contributions and subsequently benefited from the tax reduction associated with political donations. The use of funds intended for parliamentary expenses was criticised as providing a tax advantage on expenditure financed through the IRFM.

State of the evidence

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Personally implicated