MONTREAL — After being publicly accused of lavish spending by Quebec’s auditor general, SODEC head Jean-Guy Chaput said Tuesday that he’s a victim of a media smear campaign and will not resign.

At a heated press conference at the SODEC offices, Chaput gave a detailed explanation for nearly every negative finding in Renaud Lachance’s report, released last week to widespread media coverage.

Chaput was most frustrated by the auditor general’s comment that he leads a sumptuous lifestyle.

‘That word is not in the report,’ said the visibly rattled bureaucrat. ‘If I quit my job today I am saying, yes, everything is true. But it’s not true. I don’t have sumptuous tastes.

‘It was a very easy thing to say. The auditor general ignored certain facts,’ he added.

Apparently baffled by the widespread outcry — Premier Jean Charest and his culture minister Christine Saint-Pierre have both said they no longer have any confidence in the SODEC boss — Chaput also defended staying in his $1,300-a-night-room-with-a-view at Cannes; a revelation this province’s journalists and the auditor general seized on to paint him as an irresponsible jetsetter.

‘It was on the third floor. The whole suite could have fit into this conference room here,’ said Chaput, holding up a map of Cannes to show reporters that SODEC employees were sleeping far away from the luxury hotels. ‘The room I stayed in was ordinary. It was a nice room, but it wasn’t sumptuous,’ said the executive, adding that hotel rooms during the Cannes festival are outrageously expensive.

Chaput also defended an $80,000 bill that Lachance singled out because no receipts were provided. The SODEC boss said the bill was for receptions and theater rentals for the Cinéma du Québec promotional event in France. ‘We had a major cocktail on the Champs-Élysées. It was to promote Ce qu’il faut pour vivre.’

Chaput went on to say he will act swiftly to implement the report’s recommendations, and said he will stay in his job until he hears otherwise from SODEC’s board, which meets Friday.

Saint-Pierre asked SODEC board head Jean Pronovost to look into Chaput’s expenses after she heard rumors that he was an excessive spender. Saint-Pierre also said Tuesday in the National Assembly that Chaput doesn’t have the ‘moral authority’ to continue working at the cultural agency.

Chaput’s mandate expires Oct. 2.