Cour des Comptes (France)

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Main entrance of the Palais Cambon

The Cour des Comptes is the French Court of Auditors . It has existed since the 14th century and has been based in the Palais Cambon (built 1898–1912) in the street of the same name in the 1st arrondissement of Paris since 1912 . Its motto is: S'assurer du bon emploi de l'argent public, en informer le citoyen (to insure yourself about the good use of public money and to inform the public about it).

The Court of Auditors is headed by the First President, since June 2020 Pierre Moscovici . Traditionally, the best graduates from the ENA elite university apply to the Court of Auditors to begin their careers as auditors .

Legal basis

The audit office goes back to an edict of the French king Philip V ( Ordonnance de Pontoise ) from the year 1318. This makes it one of the oldest and most powerful institutions in the French central state .

Nowadays, the Court of Auditors relies mainly on Article 15 of the French Declaration of Human and Citizens' Rights of 1789 for its legal basis , the wording of which adorns, among other things, the wall of the main room (Grande Chambre).

Palais Cambon

The architect Constant Moyaux († 1911), who won a prize in a competition in 1898, was commissioned to erect the prestigious building on the site of the earlier monastery complex of the Couvent des Filles de l'Assomption , of which only the church remained . After his death, his colleague Paul Guadet continued the work. The inauguration ceremony took place on October 16, 1912 in the presence of the then President Armand Fallières .

The building was expanded after the Second World War. The grand staircase of honor has been a listed building since 1979 ; the facades, roof sections and various interiors (2nd floor) since 1993.

history

Philippe Séguin was appointed by the then President Jacques Chirac , at the suggestion of Nicolas Sarkozy . In 2007, after his election as President, Sarkozy offered him the opportunity to become a minister in the cabinet of Prime Minister François Fillon . Séguin refused and preferred to remain President of the Cour des Comptes.

In May and June 2012 there was a historic change of government: for the first time since 1981 ( François Mitterrand ) a socialist became President again; the socialists also gained a majority in the National Assembly. After taking office, François Hollande ordered a cash drop by the Court of Auditors. In 2012 alone, according to the authority (July 2, 2012), the budget was missing six to ten billion euros; however, the government wants to meet its international savings commitments. In 2013, as much as 33 billion euros would have to be cut in planned government spending in order not to exceed the general deficit ceiling of 3.0 percent of GDP that would then apply again.

organization

Under the direction of the First President, the Court of Auditors is composed of financial judges who are divided into six chambers, as well as employees who are responsible for control and administrative tasks within the directorates and departments. The General Secretariat, made up of judges, is responsible for running the administration of the Court of Justice. The attorney general at the Court of Justice is headed by the attorney general.

The chambers have the following responsibilities (as of January 1, 2018):

  • 1st Chamber: Economic and Financial Skills of the State, Financing of the Economy and Public Financial Institutions, Public Finances and Government Accounts, Industry, Trade and Services (current President: Raoul Briet)
  • 2nd Chamber: Energy, Transport and Telecommunications, Agriculture and Sea, Environment (current President: Catherine de Kersauson)
  • 3rd Chamber: Education, Youth and Sport, University, Research, Culture and Communication (current President: Sophie Moati)
  • 4th Chamber: Defense, Internal Security, Justice, Foreign Affairs, Authorities, Prime Minister's Services, Decentralized Administration, Local Public Finances, Appeals against judgments of the Regional and Territorial Audit Chambers (current President: Gilles Andréani)
  • 5th Chamber: work and employment, urban and housing, territorial cohesion, immigration and integration, social cohesion and solidarity, public generosity (current President: Pascal Duchadeuil)
  • 6th Chamber: Social Security, Health, Medical-Social Sector (current President: Denis Morin)

The general rapporteur for the Committee on Public Reports and Programs is Roch-Olivier Maistre.

First President

The First President, after hearing the Attorney General, determines the organization of the Court of Auditors. It distributes the Court's powers among the six chambers and adopts the annual work program taking into account the proposals of the presidents of the chambers. He heads the administration of the Court of Auditors and is the superior of the staff employed in financial control.

Since his appointment by President Emmanuel Macron on June 3, 2020, Pierre Moscovici has been First President of the Cour des comptes.

See also

Web links

Commons : Cour des Comptes (Paris)  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

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  1. ↑ Béatrice Gurrey, "Philippe Séguin, Raminagrobis à la Cour des comptes", Le Monde , November 9th of 2005.
  2. ↑ spiegel.de July 2, 2012: Court of Auditors demands billions in savings from Hollande
  3. ↑ spiegel.de July 2, 2012: Billion hole endangers Hollande's election promise
  4. ↑ Website des Cour de comptes (accessed July 9, 2018)
  5. ↑ Description of the duties of the First President on the website of the Cour de Comptes (accessed on July 9, 2018)

Coordinates: 48 ° 52 ′ 0.8 ″  N , 2 ° 19 ′ 32.5 ″  E