Paris
French Finance Minister Hervé Gaymard resigned this week, after admitting that he leased a luxury apartment with taxpayer money. Gaymard, who is close to French President Jacques Chirac and was widely seen as a future prime minister, recently told the magazine Paris Match that he was a “humble” worker’s son with “no personal wealth.” But an investigation by the newspapers Le Canard Enchainé and Libération turned up multiple properties in Gaymard’s name, including a house in the Alps and another in Brittany. The most damaging revelation was that the fancy Paris apartment the Finance Ministry leased for him cost $18,500 a month. As finance minister, Gaymard had pledged to cut wasteful spending.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
6 elegant Queen Anne Victorian homesFeature Featuring original diamond-glass doors in New York and a registered historic landmark in Arkansas
-
Starbucks baristas strike over dress codespeed read The new uniform 'puts the burden on baristas' to buy new clothes, said a Starbucks Workers United union delegate
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last yearspeed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
