Eh, bien, I had to laugh when I read about my fellow compatriot, Nicolas Sarkozy,  disciplining his ministers for their high-flying spending, chuckles the Countess du Ruel. And this came just as le Président was demanding that les Français work longer and harder before retirement.

It seems that M. Christian Blanc, junior minister for Greater Paris, has been caught sending his chauffeur for carloads of fine Havanas, at a cost of 12,000 euros or £10,000/year to the taxpayer.

The political elite in France has been living a truly regal lifestyle, like frogs "high on the hog," just when France is embracing austerity.  The political nobility have never been held accountable for their extravagance, unlike their noble ancestors.  Private jets for minister and limos for their wives have been de rigueur. La belle Rama Yade (junior sports' minister) paid more for her hotel suite in South Africa than the french World Cup team members did.  It seems that players of Les Bleus paid a mere £500 per night as opposed to her £700.

Generous pensions are on the wane.  The justice minister, Michèle Aliot-Marie, declared in a radio interview that her income was 144,000 euros/year plus 60,000 euros for a pension as a former MP.  This sent out shock waves on the radio waves.  Sitting MPs receive 7,000 euros/month in personal expenses on top of salaries, office costs and transport.  That's 84,000 euros per year...which could be called quite a bonus!  It seems the French fonctionnaires have been getting away with murder, or at least getting away with chauffeurs.  Cabinet ministers have luxurious state accommodations in the capital plus domestiques, drivers and police bodyguards.

The most opulent lifestyle of all is enjoyed at the Elysée Palace.  The Palace is not affected by the new mandate at the Foreign Ministry to replace some of its fresh flowers with plastic, as part of the initiative to cut ministries' costs by 5%.  However, the Prime Minister still uses a state jet for his 20-minute flight home to the Loire for the weekend.

Les Français are not all that pleased with their ministers' "let us eat cake" attitude.  In a recent poll the vast majority think ministers should set an example with lower pay and curtailed expenses.

The French ministers must have feared for their breathtaking privileges, which exceed those of other EU countries, as they watched heads roll in the expenses scandal in the UK.  After all it could easily become a Tale of Two Cities as the expenses scandal revolution spreads across La Manche. It wasn't that long ago that the last person was guillotined in 1976.  And attention, the Ancien Régime suffered this fate because of their extravagances!

Plus ça change plus la même chose!