Emmanuel Macron is the candidate who spent the most during the presidential campaign with nearly 17 million euros, almost 20 times more than the iconoclast Jean Lassalle, according to electoral campaign accounts published on Tuesday.

The president re-elected on April 24 spent 16.7 million euros on the campaign, exactly as in 2017, indicate the electoral campaign accounts of the 12 contenders for the Elysée published in the Official Journal, as filed at the end of June with the National Commission for Campaign Accounts and Political Financing, which must examine them by the end of the year.

Nearly 15 million for the 1st round

Emmanuel Macron is ahead of LR candidate Valérie Pécresse who spent 14.3 million euros for a single round of voting, but without reaching the 5% mark of votes which would have allowed him to obtain reimbursement of his campaign expenses.

After her defeat, she had also launched an appeal for donations to fill the hole of five million euros.

Both are ahead of the third man in the presidential election, the rebellious Jean-Luc Mélenchon who paid 13.7 million euros.

Beaten in the second round by Macron, the RN Marine Le Pen invested 11.5 million euros in its campaign.

She is practically neck and neck with far-right polemicist Eric Zemmour, who came fourth in the first round, who paid nearly 11 million euros.

Less than 4 million for Anne Hidalgo

Socialist Anne Hidalgo, whose party had anticipated a score of less than 5%, spent only 3.7 million euros.

Ecologist Yannick Jadot, also below 5%, invested 5.2 million euros in the campaign.

Still on the left, the communist Fabien Roussel spent 4.02 million euros.

The candidate who spent the least is Jean Lassalle, who became the spokesperson for the campaigns during the electoral campaign, with just over 813,060 euros.

He is closely followed by the NPA Philippe Poutou (819,686 euros), then the sovereignist Nicolas Dupont-Aignan (871,410) and the LO Nathalie Arthaud (891,098 euros).

A decision at the end of December

The expenditure ceiling was set this year at 16,851,000 euros for candidates present in the first round, and 22,509,000 euros for candidates qualified for the second round.

The Campaign Accounts Committee will make its decision on each of the accounts towards the end of December.

So far, it has only approved one account on the first try, that of NPA Olivier Besancenot in 2007. In 2012, he rejected those of outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy who, like Valérie Pécresse, had appealed to donations.

Reimbursements will amount to a maximum of 800,423 euros for candidates who have not reached the 5% mark;

8,004,225 euros for the other candidates present in the first round;

10,691,775 euros for candidates competing in the second round.

Policy

Presidential 2022: 250 billion more expenses for 267 billion in revenue… Mélenchon quantifies his program

Company

French Presidential Election Spending Inflation

  • Presidential election 2022

  • Emmanuel Macron

  • Valerie Pécresse

  • Anne Hidalgo

  • John Lassalle