There has been stirrings recently in the corridors of France's Ministry for Overseas Territories where, in theory, no one has been in office since the government reshuffle on January 11th. When the new government was announced all the existing ministers stood down, with many of the junior ministers still waiting to see if they are to be replaced, moved or put back in their old job. Accordingly, Philippe Vigier the minister for overseas territories – in charge of France's overseas regions and départements or counties - was out of a job from that date and has also made clear that he does not expect to return to his old post. Yet despite this, the ex-minister has continued to make use of the resources provided by the state for serving ministers. And according to Mediapart's information, he has even organised several private dinners at the ministry on Rue Oudinot in Paris.
The former minister himself fully acknowledges what he is doing. “I can understand you asking the question [editor's note, about the fact that he is benefiting from the state's resources when he is no longer in office] but I've been given some leeway,” he said. On the question of using the ministry's kitchens, the former junior minister said that he had acted out of “convenience”, and said there had been “three private meals” for which he said he would soon reimburse the state out of his own pocket. “It's a monthly pricing system, at the start of February I shall receive the bill for the monthly meals,” he explained.
But when asked why he had not simply organised these meals outside the ministry, the former minister became irritated. “Do you invite lots of people to your house?” he asked.
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On top of getting ministry staff to prepare his private dinners, the former minister has also continued to occupy the ministry's official residence and to use the ministerial car, driver and security officer that are at the disposal of government members.
How many times has he used the car? And for what reasons? Initially the ex-minister, who is from the centrist MoDem party, got his former head of communications at the ministry – who himself is also no longer supposed to have any official function after the reshuffle - to respond on his behalf. “I'm no longer an advisor but I remain committed to Philippe Vigier,” the former spokesperson explained when Mediapart expressed surprise that he was talking on behalf of the former minister. The ex-communications chief then spoke of “return trips between Paris and [Vigier's] old constituency in Eure-et-Loir [editor's note, a département or county south west of Paris]” as well as “trips within Paris”, without giving further details.
Return trips to his constituency
Approached again by Mediapart, Philippe Vigier subsequently took over from his former spokesperson, and accepted he had “made several return trips to the constituency” with the ministerial car since the January 11th reshuffle. By way of justification, the former minister pointed out that he does not represent a Paris region constituency and that there are only two trains a day - “one in the morning, one in the evening” - to the area where he is the Member of Parliament. Once again, he insisted that the government allowed him to do this.
When questioned, the office of Gérald Darmanin, who as interior minister was Philippe Vigier's boss for six months, messaged to say that “car + security officer have been kept for the junior ministers, while awaiting the new government”. To get a more detailed explanation, the minister of the interior's aides referred us to the prime minister's office and the inter-ministerial body the Secrétariat Général du Gouvernement (SGG). Despite being contacted many times since January 25th, none of new prime minster Gabriel Attal's advisors have so far responded to Mediapart's questions on this. “As for the private dinners, we have no idea, you'll have to talk to Vigier,” said the Ministry of the Interior when asked about the private meals at the Ministry of Overseas Territories.
The “leeway” that Philippe Vigier says he has benefited from over the past three weeks is even more surprising given that his former colleagues in government paint a very different picture of what has happened to them after quitting their ministries. Mediapart has spoken to four ex-members of the government who also automatically lost their posts on the day of the reshuffle. While waiting for the new appointments to the junior ministerial posts to be announced, and with no certainty as to their own future, they “no longer have the right to incur any expenditure”, said one. Another added: “We no longer have an entry pass, car, anything.”
Former aides working as volunteers
The rules are clearly hazy and vary from one former minister to another. One of those questioned by Mediapart said that they had made use of the ministerial car and security officer for several days after the reshuffle, before their former chief of staff told them that the instructions had changed. “We had access to the offices, to the car and the security officer for one week,” said another. “I know that some are still in their official residences,” said a third. “That's impossible!” insisted one of his former colleagues. “The term 'official residence' means you are there officially. Yet we haven't been there officially for three weeks.”
Some civil servants view these random variations with alarm. “One minister kept his driver for around ten days after the reshuffle, before the car was taken back,” said one official, emphasising the unprecedented nature of the situation. “At the start it was handled on a case-by-case basis,” he said, with regret. In that official's ministry civil service managers ultimately took it upon themselves to request an end to what, according to him, was seen as an unjustified “privilege”.
Former ministerial aides are also subject to this 'grey zone', especially those who hope to get rehired to a ministerial private office in the coming days. Some former ministerial staffers told Le Parisien newspaper of their “torment”, with many continuing to work on as volunteers. Le Monde also related several similar situations, especially at the Treasury where staff working for the four junior ministers not yet replaced (for industry, budget, digital transition and small businesses) continue to work “unofficially” in coordination with the office of economy minister Bruno Le Maire, to “ensure that ongoing issues are monitored”. In other words, they are working without pay and outside the usual staff regulatory framework.
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- The original French version of this article can be found here.
English version by Michael Streeter