French PM scraps ministers' severance payouts in belt-tightening move

PARIS (Reuters) -Caretaker French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said on Wednesday that ministers in his short-lived government would not receive severance pay, aiming to set an example of the budget belt-tightening he says the country needs.

Lecornu, France's fifth prime minister in two years, resigned along with his cabinet on Monday - just hours after the government was announced on Sunday - making it the shortest-lived administration in modern French history.

French ministers are entitled to three months of severance pay — nearly 10,000 euros ($11,617) per month for ministers and almost 14,000 euros for a prime minister — as they do not qualify for unemployment insurance.

"We cannot aim to make savings if we do not also try to set an example and act with rigour, in line with the other decisions I have taken," Lecornu told reporters during an update on talks with other parties to resolve the political crisis.

France's political turmoil has deepened as successive prime ministers have struggled to rein in the euro zone’s largest budget deficit, facing fierce resistance to spending cuts and tax hikes.

With public anger over the swift succession of prime ministers building, Lecornu last month set a 10-year limit on how long former prime ministers can benefit from a chauffeur-driven car.

Former prime ministers cost the state 1.58 million euros last year in perks, which also include having a secretary for a decade after leaving office.

($1 = 0.8608 euros)

(Reporting by Leigh ThomasEditing by Gareth Jones)

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