Overview
- From January 1, 24 chauffeurs with vehicles and 24 police security officers assigned to former prime ministers and interior ministers were withdrawn, with individualized letters sent to the former occupants of Matignon.
- Protection is now capped at three years for former prime ministers and two years for former interior ministers, and a decree limits vehicles with drivers for ex–prime ministers to ten years after leaving office.
- A small minority keep protection after threat reviews, including Manuel Valls, Bernard Cazeneuve and Christophe Castaner, with recent officeholders and presidential candidate Édouard Philippe also spared for now.
- Matignon says the freed personnel will be redeployed to priority missions such as countering narcotrafficking, and cited past annual costs of about €1.58 million for vehicles and secretariats plus roughly €3 million for protection.
- The rollout prompted public reactions, notably from former interior minister Daniel Vaillant, who said he has not driven for 25 years and questioned the change, drawing criticism online.