The president of the Normandy region, Hervé Morin, announced on Monday 18 December that he was "putting an end to the reimbursement of his representation expenses" as requested by the Regional Chamber of Auditors (CRC), confirming information from local media.
In its report, which notes that the regional financial situation "remained comfortable" between 2018 and 2021, the CRC explains that the region reimburses the president for his "representation expenses", composed "almost exclusively of meal expenses", for a total amount of around "6000 euros per year".
'Illegal and non-transparent nature of this expenditure'
The CRC's audit did not reveal any expenditure "manifestly devoid of any link with the regional interest", the document reads, but the chamber "confirms the illegal and non-transparent nature of this expenditure, which must be stopped".
According to the Chamber, the reimbursement of this type of expense is not 'provided for by law' for regional presidents, unlike the rules applicable 'to municipalities, urban communities and agglomeration communities'. The report also notes that hospitality or hospitality expenses were paid "directly to the service providers, for significantly higher amounts".
'No desire for concealment'
These "fees paid to third parties", cost the taxpayer between 66,467 (2020) and 102,427 euros (2018), while the average of these expenses in the metropolitan regions, excluding Île-de-France and Corsica, went over the same period (from 2018 to 2021) from 26,000 to 40,000 euros. When questioned, the region's press and communication service replied that there was "no desire to conceal since a dedicated budget line appears in the budget of the local authority".
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The CRC's remark led to the immediate cessation of the reimbursement of the catering expenses advanced by the President," the press service added, confirming a report in the online investigative media Le Poulpe.
With regard to 'expenses paid to third parties', the region explained that this budget line concerned 'catering or catering costs at receptions or events organised by the Normandy Region'. These are "paid mainly in the context of a public contract (press lunches, decoration presentations, various inaugurations, launch of new regional policies, events linked to the highlighting of Norman excellence)".