French ministers will for the first time disclose their assets, in a move President Francois Hollande’s Socialist government hopes will restore public confidence after a tax fraud scandal.
There was apprehension, however, that the move could backfire by revealing significant riches to a country struggling with a lengthy economic downturn.
With growth stagnant, unemployment on the rise and the government slashing spending, senior officials admit the move is risky, but hope it will help turn the page on the scandal over a secret Swiss bank account that belonged to ex-budget minister Jerome Cahuzac.
The assets of 37 ministers and of Prime Minister
Jean-Marc Ayrault will be published at 1500 GMT Monday on the government website.
The move has sparked widespread debate in France, where personal finances are rarely discussed and, unlike in the United States where politicians often publish their tax returns, the wealth of public officials has long been considered private.
Lawmakers on both the right and left have decried the move and the government expects a tough battle when it attempts to have the disclosure rule extended to parliamentarians in a law to be presented on April 24.
Former prime minister Francois Fillon of the right-wing UMP denounced the measure on Sunday as “useless” and aimed at “discrediting politicians.”
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