French ministers resign after spending scandals

PARIS - Two French junior government ministers resigned Sunday after scandals involving spending state money on a private jet and thousands of Euros worth of cigars - all while France is struggling to bring down its deficit.

Alain Joyandet, secretary of state for cooperation, and Christian Blanc, in charge of a sweeping development plan for Paris, submitted their resignations to French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the president's office said in a statement Sunday. Sarkozy accepted their resignations.

The departures raised questions over whether more prominent ministers could be on their way out, after Sarkozy recently said he plans a government reshuffle later this year.

The spending scandals came as France is seeking to cut its enormous deficit and debt, and French workers are still feeling the pinch of the economic crisis.

Last month, Sarkozy ordered his ministers to ax "unjustified or excessive expenses" and set an example for the public.

That came after a string of top officials came under fire for profligacy.

Joyandet rented a private jet in March to go to an international conference for aid to Haiti that cost euro116,500 ($200,637) . He later told reporters the expense was "exceptional" but necessary because of his tight agenda. He insisted he was one of the government's least costly ministers.

"In the future I will pay closer attention to the way I conduct my expenses," he said at the time.

Joyandet's job included attending aid conferences and relations with other French-speaking countries, many of them former French colonies.

The investigative and satirical weekly Canard Enchaine recently reported that Joyandet obtained an illegal building permit to turn a small house into a large villa on property he owns near Saint-Tropez on the French Riviera. Joyandet denied any wrongdoing but later gave up the permit.

His job will be handled by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, Sarkozy's office said.

Blanc was the secretary of state in charge of Sarkozy's so-called "Grand Paris" project, a euro21 billion project designed to respond to the global economic crisis and boost greater Paris as a 21st-century business powerhouse.

Blanc was criticised after his office charged euro12,000 worth of cigars to his ministry's budget. He later said he reimbursed the government the portion of that money spent on cigars for his personal use.

His job will be handled by Michel Mercier, minister for rural and territorial affairs.

Two other ministers have been criticised for how they used their government-issue Paris apartments, and an ex-minister gave up a euro9,500-euro-a-month state paycheck for a little-known study on globalisation after the media found out about and raised public ire.

French media speculated that Sunday's resignations of relatively low-profile ministers could draw attention away from a more powerful figure also under fire.

Labor Minister Eric Woerth has been linked to suggestions of tax evasion involving France's richest woman, L'Oreal heiress Liliane Bettencourt. Until recently, Woerth's wife worked as Bettencourt's investment adviser, and Eric Woerth was budget minister, in charge of pursuing tax dodgers. He and his wife deny there was any conflict of interest. The opposition has called for Woerth's resignation but Sarkozy has defended him.

- AP