French media reported that President Emmanuel Macron and his wife spent 600,000 euros of public money on flowers for the presidential palace last year, almost five times as much as the previous president, prompting the French public, whose lives are severely restricted by epidemic prevention measures, to criticize the shame.
The French political weekly Politis cited official figures released in August last year to reveal that Emmanuel Macron and first lady Brigitte, who live and work in the Elysee Palace, ordered the above-mentioned amount of flowers and potted plants last year.
The Daily Mail reported that Francois Hollande, who served as president of France from 2012 to 2017, spent only about £117,153 on flowers in 2015. Nicolas Sarkozy, who served as president from 2007 to 2012, spent only about £129,770 on flowers in 2011.
It is worth noting that, affected by the 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19, Wuhan pneumonia) epidemic, the Elisey Palace was virtually closed to the public last year, and only a few receptions were held.
Just when France is still trying to overcome the financial impact of the epidemic, the Macron government also announced to spend 100 billion euros to revitalize the economy, the news came out of the French public eyebrows.
The epidemic caused paralysis in France last year, but the Macrones still bought flowers, disgruntled people criticized “shameful”. Many took to social media to vent their anger, with one person writing, “We are being asked to cut back on food and clothing, to be taxed more, and he is enjoying himself.” Others wrote: “Shame on you. What contempt for people who have nothing. A waste of public money.”
Macron has imposed a 6 p.m. curfew in 15 of France’s most affected areas and an 8 p.m. curfew in others. He is also considering imposing a 3rd nationwide city closure to contain the outbreak.
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