Gérard Larcher, President of the French Senate, was recently called a “ scoundrel” (“une crapule”) by Member of the European Parliament Rima Hassan. In response, Larcher filed a legal complaint with the Paris Prosecutor for “defamation and insult.”
It is, of course, striking to see such a blatant lack of respect shown toward the third-highest official in the French state hierarchy—after the President and the Prime Minister.
Hassan’s remark came in reaction to statements Larcher made on April 11 in an interview with Europe 1, where he declared that “the conditions are not in place to go further in recognizing a Palestinian state.” Hassan, of Palestinian descent, was understandably outraged—though the language she used may not be acceptable in political discourse—by what she perceived as indifference to the Palestinian cause at a time when Gaza is facing a humanitarian catastrophe. Indiscriminate Israeli airstrikes have killed more than 25,000 children and a similar number of women. The phrase “to go further” implied that France had already done enough—an assertion that seemed disingenuous at best.
As of May 28, 2025, 146 countries have recognized Palestine de jure, including, recently, Ireland, Norway, and Spain. In light of the suffering endured by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, Rima Hassan had hoped for a message of solidarity—or at the very least, sympathy—from the third-highest official in the French Republic, especially given that Israel has consistently denied Palestinians’ right to exist since its founding in 1948.
But was it fair to brand Gérard Larcher—a senator since 1986, president of the Senate since 2014, and a former two-time government minister—a “scoundrel”?
In the preface to Bel-Ami, French writer, Guy de Maupassant, described his unscrupulous protagonist Georges Duroy: “Wishing to analyze a scoundrel, I placed him in a milieu worthy of him, so as to better highlight the character.”
If we apply that framework, what would be the “worthy milieu” of Gérard Larcher?
1. Compensation and Perks That Stagger the Mind
As President of the Senate, Larcher receives a total income composed of a base salary, allowances, in-kind benefits, and function-related expenses. Here’s a breakdown (2023–2024 data):
Salary
+ Parliamentary Allowance: Like all senators, Larcher receives a gross monthly salary of about €7,100 (€5,820 net). In his role as President, he also gets an additional €7,591 gross (€6,220 net), bringing his total to roughly €14,691 gross/month (€12,040 net).
+ Representation Allowance (non-taxable): €6,293/month, re-evaluated annually. Considered a reimbursement for professional expenses and exempt from income tax. A 2002 amendment prevents the French tax administration from auditing this allowance.
In-Kind Benefits
+ Official Residence: A 200 m² luxury apartment at the Hôtel du Petit Luxembourg (within the Senate palace), rent-free. Estimated market value: €10,000–€15,000/month.
+ Household Staff, including a starred chef (undisclosed details). Monthly estimate: €20,000.
+ Official Car with Chauffeur: An armored vehicle, with unspecified costs.
+ Security Detail: 24/7 police protection, costing an estimated €400,000–€500,000 annually.
+ Personal Staff: A team of 10–15 advisors and assistants, with an annual cost of €200,000–€300,000.
+ Travel Expenses Covered: Unlimited business-class air travel, first-class rail travel (TGV and Ouigo Premium), and full Navigo transit pass.
+ Subsidized Senate Meals: A full meal (starter, main course, dessert) costs €5–€10, versus €25–€40 in equivalent Paris restaurants. In 2023, a complete lunch cost about €7.50. Actual cost per meal to taxpayers: €30–€50, with subsidies covering 70–90%. The total annual subsidy is not disclosed.
+ “Courtesy Budget” for official gifts: €30,000–€50,000/year.
+ Representation Expenses: Estimated at €600,000–€800,000/year (actual amount not publicly disclosed).
In total, these privileges are valued at €2 to €2.7 million annually.
Additionally, Larcher controls a discretionary budget of €2.5 million/year for funding local projects and associations. Though the previous “parliamentary reserve” system (worth €50 million for senators) was abolished in 2017 due to scandals, a similar mechanism was quietly reintroduced in December 2023, now under tighter scrutiny.
Four Pensions, Estimated at €8,000/Month
Although lawmakers’ pensions are not public, estimates place Larcher’s total pension income at around €8,000 gross/month:
While technically legal, this cumulative pension highlights the stark contrast between multi-pensioned public officialsand private-sector retirees, who receive on average €1,400/month
3. “…To Better Highlight the Character,” as Maupassant Wrote :
+ In 2011, the Paris High Court opened a judicial inquiry into Larcher for falsified reimbursements. The case was dropped due to lack of evidence, but he repaid €20,000 in irregular allowances out of the €60,000 in question.
+ The Senate maintains a secret bonus system that doubles the retirement payouts for 50 to 100 senior administrators. There is no public record detailing the criteria. A 2021 report by the French Court of Auditors cited “non-transparent compensatory advantages.” The €50–80 million fund generates €2–2.5 million/year in returns—buried in a budget line (2023) marked “financial income: €7.9 million.”
+ Gérard Larcher chaired a Gaullist parliamentary friendship group created to manage a “war chest” belonging to the RPR group in the Senate. The money came from public funds allocated for the salaries of senators’ aides and assistants. From 2009 to 2014, it was informally understood that any unused amounts could be transferred to the parliamentary group, which in turn, as a gesture of appreciation, would redistribute a third of the funds to the senators concerned — the infamous “kickbacks.” Between 2003 and 2014, UMP (now Republican) senators received, every December, undeclared year-end “bonuses” of around €8,000 — in the style of a thirteenth month’s pay. Marquis Henri de Raincourt, senator for Yonne from 1986 to 2009 and a minister under François Fillon’s government (during Nicolas Sarkozy’s presidency) from July 2009 to March 2011, was secretly receiving €4,000 a month — on top of his ministerial salary — from a parallel HSBC account operated by the UMP Senate group. He and the group’s treasurer, Senator Jean-Claude Carle, were indicted in December 2016;
+ In 2024, Larcher advocated for seven unpaid work hours annually from all employees to help reduce France’s social security deficit, projected to save €2.5 billion. As Senator Cathy Apourceau-Poly pointed out, he did not propose a “dividends solidarity day” for shareholders.
+ In May 2025, the Senate passed a resolution to ban migrant aid NGOs from immigration detention centers, proposing instead that their role be handed over to the state-run immigration office (Ofii), overseen by Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau. Groups like La Cimade, France Terre d’Asile, and Assfam, which provide legal and emotional support to detainees, would be sidelined.
+ With all this in mind—what Maupassant describes as the ‘depth’ that gives a character its full shape —the label scoundrel may no longer seem so excessive after all.
One thing is certain: such an insult was never directed at Uruguayan Senator José Mujica, who passed away on May 13 at the age of 89. Imprisoned and tortured for 14 years under the military dictatorship, Mujica later served 15 years as senator, was twice President of the Senate, and became Uruguay’s President (2010–2015). He donated 87% of his salary to social housing programs, keeping only the national average wage for himself—around €900/month. He lived modestly on his wife Lucia Topolansky’s small farm, tending orchids in his free time. During a 2012 cold wave, he opened the unoccupied presidential palace as a shelter for the homeless. He drove himself to the Senate in a 23-year-old Volkswagen Beetle, with one police officer by his side.
“I don’t live poorly,” Mujica said. “I live simply.”
And with dignity
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