The senators’ decision dates back to mid-November, but is only emerging today, while the similar decision of the deputies is controversial.
As of December 31, 2023, senators had 5,900 euros per month in general advance of mandate expenses. Since January 1, 2024, they can now count on a prize pool of 6,600 euros, indicates the Senate website. An advance which can also be “increased to take into account the particular situation of overseas Senators or representing French people established outside France”, it is also specified. The decision, adopted in mid-November, allows representatives of the country’s Upper House to benefit from an additional 700 euros per month to cover their various expenses as part of the exercise of their mandate. Rent for a local office, expenses incurred during travel (train tickets, hotel, etc.), documentation or even representation are considered as such, underline Ouest-France, while franceinfo insists on the fact that This is in no way a salary increase.
This increase of 700 euros per month was put in place in order to “take into account the consequences of the inflationary context”, indicates the official minutes of the meeting. Having gone completely unnoticed until the end of January, it was finally raised by Mediapart, while the deputies last week recorded an increase of 300 euros per month in their mandate fees, now set at 5,950 euros monthly. An increase which had also sparked heated controversy in the midst of farmers’ mobilization. The Union of Parliamentary Collaborators had, for its part, sharply criticized this choice, denouncing a decision “taken when the Assembly refuses, on the grounds that it would cost too much for the institution, to increase the credit for parliamentary collaborators”, relays Ouest-France. While Mediapart estimates the senators’ increase at “more than 2.9 million euros” annually, the Upper House could also plunge into turmoil.
