Damien Abad was appointed Friday, May 20 Minister of Solidarity, Autonomy and People with Disabilities. The next day, the Mediapart site made public the accusations of two young women. Since then, the minister has disappeared from the public scene.
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The first week of the new minister was marked by the shock wave of rape accusations brought against him by two young women and revealed on Saturday May 21 by Mediapart. Even if he denies “firmly” these accusations, the affair took on such proportions that Damien Abad did not really begin his government work. The Minister in charge of Solidarity, Autonomy and Disabled People will however have to manage very large files, such as the payment at source of social minima and the reform of old age.
Between the Council of Ministers last Monday and the meeting at Matignon on Friday, no trace of the minister. Even on the side of the unions, we were beginning to worry.
But on Friday, the phone of Synerpa, the national union of establishments, residences and home help services for the elderly, finally rang. It was time, says its general delegate Florence Arnaiz-Maumé: “We have a plan to end the crisis to be implemented in the field of nursing homes. The French are waiting for a reform of autonomy. Whoever we talk to, we want to move forward as quickly as possible.”
The phone call came from Damien Abad’s newly recruited chief of staff. He must now set about recruiting a full team. Damien Abad is already at work, but mainly for internal meetings, according to those around him. Elisabeth Borne asked for concrete proposals for the end of June. “He Projects”, says a relative. All week, he has also especially multiplied the back and forth in his constituency, to try to be re-elected to the legislative elections, a sine qua non for remaining in government.