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French Minister Who Dined on Lobster at Taxpayers’ Expense Resigns French Minister Who Dined on Lobster at Taxpayers’ Expense Resigns
(about 1 hour later)
LONDON — The French ecology minister resigned on Tuesday, after a public outcry over the lavish dinners he hosted at taxpayer expense. VIERZON, France — The French environment minister, François de Rugy, under fire for lavish dinners on the public dime, resigned on Tuesday as discontent mounted with President Emmanuel Macron’s political movement.
The criticism came after Mediapart, a news website, published an investigation last week showing the minister, François de Rugy, and his wife, Séverine, enjoying meals of lobster and fine wine at his official residence when he was president of the National Assembly. The revelations about Mr. de Rugy, first reported by the French investigative website Mediapart, appeared as a potent symbol of Mr. Macron’s most vulnerable spot: the accusation that he is “president of the rich.”
In a statement, Mr. de Rugy said that Mediapart had attacked him on the basis of stolen photographs and rumors. “There is no doubt as to the intention to damage, to soil and demolish,” he wrote. It was that charge that helped fuel the violent six-month “Yellow Vest” protest movement that shook Mr. Macron’s presidency, and the accusation has not gone away despite Mr. Macron’s efforts to proclaim himself humbler, wiser and less disdainful of his compatriots in the aftermath of the uprising.
“The mobilization necessary to defend myself makes me incapable of carrying out serenely and efficiently the duties entrusted to me by the president and the prime minister,” Mr. de Rugy said. “As a result, I presented my resignation to the prime minister this morning.” The scandal involving Mr. de Rugy — he hosted a series of lavish dinners for friends and professional acquaintances while he was the Macron-approved president of the National Assembly, before becoming the environment minister last year — revived all of the damaging accusations.
The scandal was damaging not only to Mr. de Rugy but also to President Emmanuel Macron, who has spent much of his tenure fighting an image as “president of the rich.” It also added to the fury that gave rise to the mass demonstrations of the “Yellow Vest” movement, in revolt over outrage at the perceived privilege of the Paris political and economic elite. Photographs of lobster tails on a table set with sparkling crystal at the Hôtel de Lassay, the assembly president’s official residence, and of Mr. de Rugy’s wife, Séverine, smiling next to a bottle of wine worth about $560, had a devastating effect. The Yellow Vests, who rose up in revolt precisely over outrage at the perceived overprivilege of the Paris political and economic elite, were back on Sunday, demonstrating on the Champs-Élysées during the Bastille Day celebrations and yelling, “We want lobsters, Champagne and caviar.”
Mr. de Rugy lashed out at Mediapart over the revelations. Mr. Macron himself is known to dislike the website, to have disdain for journalists in general, and to hate appearing to cave in to articles that challenge him.
As late as Monday, Mr. Macron appeared to be standing by his minister, proclaiming, “I don’t make decisions based on revelations, but on facts, otherwise we turn into the Republic of Denunciation.”
In a similar vein, a year ago Mr. Macron resisted for weeks responding to what proved to be one of the most damaging scandals of his presidency: One of his personal security guards, Alexandre Benalla, was caught on camera hitting a protester during a demonstration. Mr. Macron initially brushed away the revelations, but the president’s fumbling response gave his critics ammunition.
Over the weekend, discontent within the president’s political movement over the de Rugy scandal grew steadily, with some lawmakers expressing fears about the damage it was causing to them and Mr. Macron.
Announcing his resignation, Mr. de Rugy denounced “the attacks and media lynching targeting my family.”