Under fire, French PM defends €350,000 private flight

By Hajer M'tiri

PARIS (AA) - Under fire, France’s prime minister on Wednesday defended his decision to hire a private aircraft at a cost of €350,000 ($410,000) to bring him and his delegation back from an overseas trip earlier this month.

According to media reports, Edouard Philippe made the choice on Dec. 6 to use a private plane to fly him and his delegation from Tokyo to Paris instead of using an army transport plane flying the same route, but arriving two hours later.

Philippe and his office argued he needed to be back in Paris urgently, as French President Emmanuel Macron was leaving for an official state trip to Algeria.

"It's complicated to move the prime minister around and it's expensive," Philippe told French RTL radio on Wednesday.

"I understand both the surprise and the questions that French people are asking themselves."

"The rule is that, whenever possible, the prime minister or the president must be on the national territory... I take full responsibility for this decision," he added.

Asked if it had been a mistake, he replied: "I take responsibility for this decision completely, I take responsibility to such an extent that I want to explain it."

Several opposition members slammed the move as waste of public money at a time when Macron's government is stressing eliminating corruption from politicians and public office holders.