the government has only 10 days left to make announcements before the reserve period

As the European elections approach, the government will be subject to a reserve period. It will be from May 27, so if he wishes to make new announcements, it will be imperative to do so before.

From May 27, 15 days before the European elections on June 9, the government will enter a reserve period. This rule aims to guarantee the neutrality of the State, and concretely, this means the end of ministerial trips to the field which highlight the action of the government, to avoid being accused of using State means. during the campaign period.

Of course, there are exceptions, in the event of a serious, security or meteorological event, the Minister of the Interior is in fact less concerned by the reserve, or if there is an annual event to which a minister is invited. For example, the Minister of Agriculture, Marc Fesneau, is invited to the Young Farmers’ Congress, which takes place every year at the beginning of June, so he has the right to participate.

But be careful, the reserve period means that there can no longer be any new announcements, and especially not announcements that involve releasing money. “We no longer have the means to make billion-dollar plans, so that solves the problem,” quips an advisor.

The government therefore only has 10 days left if it wants to make new announcements. “It’s going to get jostled in the coming days if we want to put topics in the atmosphere,” laughs a counselor. This is why Gabriel Attal wants to make his announcements on unemployment insurance by the end of this week, and follow up next week with measures on violence committed by minors.

The Minister of Families, Sarah El Hairy, is also taking advantage of the window to launch, Wednesday May 15, her consultations on birth leave, before the pediatrics conference on May 24.

But ministers will have plenty of time to campaign with their militant hats during the reserve period, with the party’s resources obviously. The advisors are formal, “It encourages campaigning like there’s not much else you can do”, apart from managing current affairs or preparing for the Olympics. Bruno Le Maire, for example, has already planned five public meetings, notably on May 29 in Lille with Gérald Darmanin. Marc Fesneau will also do five, when the Minister of Business, Olivia Grégoire, plans one campaign action per day, meeting or leafleting on the markets. “It will be money time, so we’re going all out,” slips an advisor, while the majority list is still well behind the RN in the polls.