Overview
- Deputy Emmanuel Duplessy’s parliamentary report recommends prohibiting alcohol sales at the Assembly’s buvette as a measure of exemplariness.
- The report also seeks to exclude alcoholic drinks from deputies’ advance on mandate expenses (AFM), including beverages consumed during restaurant meals outside the building.
- Alcohol sales at the buvette totaled just under €100,000 before tax in 2024, a modest sum the author estimates equates to roughly €20 per deputy per month, with the venue serving ministers, staff and former MPs as well.
- The Assembly’s ethics officer has said alcoholic beverages may be reimbursed under AFM when reasonable and linked to the mandate; the AFM stands at €6,353 for most deputies.
- Reactions split quickly, with RN deputy Frédéric Falcon denouncing the idea on X and Socialist Philippe Brun noting low consumption and a buvette dominated by soft drinks, while the Assembly’s bureau has not yet been seized of the matter.