French ex-defense minister Goulard earned $300,000 with US consulting contract

French ex-defense minister Goulard earned $300,000 with US consulting contract: report
Goulard quit government following investigation into her party’s use of assistants at the European Parliament.
By NICHOLAS VINOCUR 6/25/17, 12:50 PM CET Updated 6/25/17, 12:51 PM CET
PARIS — Former French defense minister Sylvie Goulard, who stepped down this week, earned $300,000 over three years thanks a consulting contract with a United States-based think tank, the JDD weekly newspaper reported Sunday.

Goulard’s aides told POLITICO this week that she had volunteered to step down to avoid becoming a distraction for President Emmanuel Macron’s government as she came under investigation over her party’s use of assistants at the European Parliament.

Former Justice Minister François Bayrou and European Affairs Minister Marielle de Sarnez, who also belong to the centrist MoDem party, followed Goulard out of the government.

“Can you imagine some legal action targeting me in the midst of a military or a terrorist operation?” Goulard, whose title was minister for the armed forces, told JDD.

However, the paper suggested that Goulard’s contract with the Berggruen Institute, which was first reported by French weekly Le Canard Enchainé, may have played into her decision.

The California-based think tank, headed by Nicolas Berggruen, paid Goulard more than €10,000 per month before taxes to act as a “special adviser,” according to JDD.

Goulard said the contract was a “non-subject,” unrelated to her decision to exit the cabinet.

source news  politico.eu

“Everything was declared and the sums reported are pre-tax,” an aide told the paper.