FOCUS- Out of twelve candidates, eight did not collect the 5% of the votes allowing them to obtain the maximum reimbursement of their election expenses.
More than half of the candidates in the presidential election did not collect 5% of the vote, and are therefore not entitled to the maximum amount of reimbursement for their campaign. Out of twelve personalities, eight remained below this threshold, compared to only six in 2017. Despite these results, Valérie Pécresse, Yannick Jadot, Jean Lassalle, Fabien Roussel, Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, Anne Hidalgo, Philippe Poutou and Nathalie Arthaud will receive all likewise a few hundred thousand euros to reimburse their campaign expenses.
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Concretely, since 2007, a single independent administrative authority has been busy checking the expenses of each candidate. This is the National Commission for Campaign Accounts and Political Funding (CNCCFP). According to the organization, the authorized expenditure ceilings amount respectively to 16.851 million euros for the candidates present in the first round and to 22.509 million euros for the two candidates present in the second round. They all have the option of requesting a refund two months after the election, via an online platform.
The amount of this reimbursement depends on the number of votes received. If the personalities have more than 5% of the votes in the first round, they receive a reimbursement of 8 million euros, or 47.5% of the spending ceiling. For the eight candidates below 5%, the financial aid is much less important. It thus represents 4.75% of the expenditure ceiling, equivalent to 800,000 euros.
A “critical situation” for the Republicans
This sum seems derisory compared to the few millions spent by certain parties. That of Yannick Jadot, Europe Écologie Les Verts, having won 4.58% of the vote, must therefore reimburse 6 million euros. From the results of the first round, the candidate indicated that “ecology needs your financial support to end its fights“. For his part, Julien Bayou, EELV General Secretary, said in a tweet that “if each Yannick Jadot voter donates €3, we will have reimbursed the campaign and will be able to continue the fight for ecology“. “Fortunately, we had lowered the sails and spent less than we had planned.“, he added this morning on France Inter.
For her part, Valérie Pécresse sounded the alarm bell by calling on the French for “emergency aid to complete the financing of her campaign”, reporting a “critical situation“of the LR party which will not be reimbursed from”7 million euros” of charges. The contestant also said she was “personally indebted to the tune of 5 million euros“. “This is why I need your help, urgently, by May 15, to complete the financing of this presidential campaign (…) The survival of the Republicans is at stake, and beyond the survival of the republican right“, she launched to the press from the headquarters of the party, which obtained 4.79% of the vote this Sunday.
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A tax reduction on donations to parties
These appeals for donations are not really new. Already, in 2012, Nicolas Sarkozy had launched the “Sarkothonafter canceling his campaign accounts. Despite his score above 5%, the candidate had exceeded the amount of the imposed ceiling by 2.1%, canceling any reimbursement from the CNCCFP. Thanks to this initiative, Nicolas Sarkozy had collected 11 million euros in donations in two months. Note that private donations are authorized up to 4600 euros. A tax reduction is also possible up to 66% of the sums paid, within the limit of 20% of the taxable income.
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Parties that find themselves in delicate financial situations have, for example, the possibility of selling their seat, as Les Républicains did in 2019. The Socialist Party was also forced to sell its seat in Solferino after the defeat of Benoît Hamon in 2017. Parties and candidates can also see the seizure of their property such as their houses or their furniture, but this scenario has not yet arisen in France.
For the time being, the candidates are looking to the legislative elections scheduled for May, which will determine the public financing of the parties. The only condition is to achieve at least 1% of the votes in 50 departments in France. In 2020, the total amount paid to the parties amounted to 66.08 million euros, for political parties with more than 500,000 euros in accounting revenue.
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