That question has not arisen publicly, until now, and for good reason, experts say. Employing family members “bears witness to a culture of caste or oligarchy that makes it absolutely natural for politicians to profit to the maximum from political power,” said Jean Garrigues, a leading historian of France’s political culture.

“There’s a custom, a culture which has become part of French political life, which is a heritage of the monarchy, and which is completely French,” Mr. Garrigues said. “There’s this idea that, as soon as he is picked, he’s free to dispose of public money as he pleases.”

And apparently, now in the US too, with the new orange monarch that nobody seems willing to challenge.