Aurore Bergé appointed Minister of Solidarity, Gabriel Attal to National Education, Aurélien Rousseau to Health… After long behind-the-scenes negotiations, the executive made several changes to the government team.
“It’s a sketch”is impatient, Thursday, July 20 in the morning, a ministerial adviser. “Are they ever going to put out that press release?” In the corridors of the ministries as in the newsrooms, the wait for the new government in recent weeks has been long, very long, before the names of the elected officials, confirmed or new entrants, are revealed. The confirmation of an extension from Elisabeth Borne to Matignon had hinted at a minimal reshuffle, which was confirmed with eight entrants and eight leavers. “The idea is to take stock of the government to get the start of the new school year off to a good start.explains a ministerial adviser. It can’t be anything other than restricted since it still comes at the end of July, it’s the last moment to make one.
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According to our information, the final arbitrations were then painful to obtain. Several sources evoke a rough battle between the President of the Republic and his Prime Minister. “The reasons for these brakes came more from within the executive than from political balances in the majority”estimates a strategist of the presidential camp. “I think there were quite strong differences of opinion on certain names”confirms a ministerial adviser. “Elisabeth Borne asked for the heads of 15 ministers and the President of the Republic said ‘no'”believes another.
“No dissensions, no disagreements”
The challenge ? Elisabeth Borne had every interest in obtaining the widest possible reorganization to give herself a new impetus. The president preferred to stick to “adjustments”, according to the words chosen by his entourage. On the side of the executive, any divergence is refuted. “There are no dissensions or disagreements, but it amuses some to feed this narrative”assures the entourage of Elisabeth Borne. “The president asked the Prime Minister to propose names. This is what she did. Together, they are looking at ministerial portfolio by ministerial portfolio if the objectives that had been set in 2022 for ministers have been achieved”completes the entourage of Emmanuel Macron.
“It’s a fantasy machine. The president has just relegitimized the Prime Minister, it’s not to get into arm wrestling with her.”
The entourage of the President of the Republicat franceinfo
In the morning of Thursday, the hours slip by and the composition of the government is still not buckled. You have to deal with last minute hiccups. Thus, the general rapporteur of the Budget, Jean-René Cazeneuve, a time tipped to replace Gabriel Attal in the Public Accounts, must give up. His deputy in the Gers, Véronique Thieux Louit, does not wish to become a deputy in his place and the majority cannot risk losing a partial legislative vote. It is finally the deputy Thomas Cazenave who inherits the morocco.
“Drip Ads”
In the middle of the afternoon, the media began to list the names of the new ministers. “This communication strategy is really weird”says political scientist Bruno Cautrès, wondering about a method aimed at giving “visibility” to the most important new ministers. “We experienced an extremely bizarre sequence from this funny dinner at the Elysée until these drip announcements, without official communication, without an announcement on the steps”observes the researcher at the CNRS and the Center for Political Research at Sciences Po (Cevipof).
“There is undoubtedly a desire for Emmanuel Macron to try something in terms of communication, to break the codes of the official announcement of a government.”
Bruno Cautrès, political scientistat franceinfo
Finally, about a quarter of the government is renewed, with barely ten changes in the team. A larger reshuffle than expected at first, due in particular to the replacement of Pap Ndiaye by Gabriel Attal in National Education and François Braun by Aurélien Rousseau in Health, two of the three priorities (with Ecology) announced by Emmanuel Macron during the last presidential campaign.
“No big prize of war”
The departures of Pap Ndiaye and François Braun, added to that of Jean-Christophe Combe (replaced at the Ministry of Solidarity by Aurore Bergé), reveal the limits of the ministers chosen within civil society. “We remain UFOs in the political landscape, because we do not have the usual guns”recently lamented one of these ministers, dismissed today. “The attempt to appeal to civil society with a government of experts always ends a bit the same”believes Bruno Cautrès.
“We have personalities projected too quickly on the political scene, in the Assembly, in the piping of the high administration … and who have a lot of trouble getting there.”
Bruno Cautrès, political scientistat franceinfo
Moreover, some of the executives of the majority have been organizing the trial of this civil society for several months. “We need political ministers who know how to manage their administration. Politically and media-sound ministers”demanded at the beginning of the year a framework of the majority. “We are no longer in the era of civil society, we need policies”, added a Renaissance deputy. This more political turn, necessary for many in a period of relative majority, is therefore reflected in the arrivals of the leader of the Renaissance deputies, Aurore Bergé, of the former chief of staff of Elisabeth Borne, Aurélien Rousseau, as well as several influential parliamentarians.
“Emmanuel Macron seems to want to send us back the message that he has a sideline, that he has new talents, new personalities in the body of deputies”, says Bruno Cautrès. However, the political balances have not been upset and the new government seems marked with the seal of continuity. “There is no upheaval in the political center of gravity of this government, it does not lean more to the left or to the right, the main sovereign ministers remain in office, it is tight macronie”continues the researcher.
The majority partners (MoDem, Horizons) retain their positions. And there is no war prize on the side of the Republicans. “In reality, we never imagined that he would be poaching this time”, comments Senator LR Bruno Retailleau. There only opening corresponds to the arrival of the current various left mayor of Dunkirk, Patrice Vergriete, at the Ministry of Housing. This seems very thin for a president who had made political overtaking a guideline since his arrival at the Elysée in 2017. “There is no big war prize in the camps opposite, with a personality who represents a political coalitionconcludes Bruno Cautrès. The problem of the absence of an absolute majority is therefore still not resolved.