“The lifetime benefits of former members of the government will be eliminated from January 1, 2026,” Sébastien Lecornu announced last September. It is “not conceivable that they could benefit from lifetime benefits because of a temporary status”.
However, six months later, nothing has changed for former Prime Minister Édith Cresson – who passed through Matignon from May 15, 1991 to April 2, 1992 – who still has a company car with driver, siren and flashing lights. Last Sunday, Médiapart even noted that this car was used by the brother of the former Prime Minister. “Her driver comes to pick me up to go to her place on Sunday for lunch,” he said outside his Parisian home.
Matignon refuses to speak on the subject
Contacted by Mediapart, Édith Cresson, 92, justified herself through the voice of her home help: “It was Sébastien Lecornu who sent her a letter to tell her that she could keep this advantage,” she said. Matignon’s services did not provide further details.
In 2023, according to a note from LR MP for Jura Marie-Christine Dalloz, Édith Cresson had still benefited from nearly 155,000 euros in benefits, a little less than Bernard Cazeneuve (more than 200,000 euros), Dominique de Villepin (197,539 euros) and Jean-Pierre Raffarin (167,467 euros), but significantly more than Jean Castex (3 607 euros).
Last month, Jean-Pierre Raffarin was caught when his company car hit a man on a scooter. According to the Quai d’Orsay, the former Prime Minister of Jacques Chirac (2002-2005) can continue to use a company car because he “was entrusted, by the President of the Republic, with an international mission on economic relations between France and China”.
