Quebec Premier Christine Fréchette and her delegation billed taxpayers $136,000 for a five-day stay in Paris, including nearly $50,000 in chauffeur fees, according to documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation following an access-to-information request.

“Fréchette spent $136,000 of taxpayers’ money for five days in Paris without bringing back a single concrete result,” said Nicolas Gagnon, Quebec director of the CTF.

Fréchette and a delegation of seven other people went to Paris from May 16 to 20, 2026. The taxpayer-funded trip cost $135,891. The premier took a flight costing $11,343, while other delegation members billed taxpayers around $2,200 per plane ticket. 

Fréchette and her delegation used VIP lounge services at the Paris airport at a total cost of $9,776.

The delegation stayed at the Pullman Paris Montparnasse Hotel at a cost of $40,016. The Pullman describes itself as “as a true work of contemporary architecture” with “luxury rooms and suites” and “a spectacular ballroom.” 

Fréchette and her delegation also hired Avis Chauffeur for its travel within the French capital. After five days, they racked up a bill of $48,604 in service fees. For comparison, the delegation could have rented eight Porsche Cayman GTS, one for each member, for a total of $30,672. 

“Nearly $50,000 in chauffeur fees for five days in Paris is completely excessive,” Gagnon said. “Quebec taxpayers paid more to chauffeur the premier around Paris for five days than it would have cost to rent a Porsche for every member of her delegation.” 

Taxpayers were billed $4,000 for cocktails served during the Quebec-Canada Unesco agreement 20th anniversary event attended by the delegation.

Back in Quebec, the premier defended herself against accusations of coming home “empty-handed,” arguing that the projects she was working on with France would “take time to materialize.”

“The premier can certainly ask taxpayers to be patient, but after a $136,000 trip, they’re entitled to expect concrete results,” Gagnon said.