France | A woman in Matignon

He wanted a woman with the heart on the left and the green fiber.

Jean-Christophe Laurence
The Press

It is done.

The President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, appointed Elisabeth Borne as Prime Minister on Monday, replacing Jean Castex, who had held the position for two years.

During the handover at Matignon (the official residence of the Prime Minister in France), M^me Borne promised that she was going to “act faster and stronger” in the face of “the climate and ecological challenge”, before dedicating her nomination “to all the little girls”, whom she invited “to go after their dreams. “.

You should know that Elisabeth Borne, 61, is only the second woman to hold the post of Prime Minister in France, the first since Edith Cresson in 1991-1992, an experience that had ended badly.

According to political scientist Mariette Sineau, this appointment is therefore “something important”, insofar as the French political landscape, reputedly macho, is just beginning to make up for lost time.

“Most European countries have had female prime ministers and for them it is no longer an event. On this side, France has so far been an exception, ”says the researcher at the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Center for Political Research at Sciences Po (CEVIPOF), author of the book Women and the Republicreleased last year.

His colleague Thomas Guénolé goes in the same direction. He notes that among the world’s great powers, France was probably the “most lagging country in terms of the feminization of political leaders”, and that it was high time to get up to speed.

Polls also show that more than 70% of French people would like to see a woman hold a high political office. Quite the opposite of the political class, which continues, according to Mariette Sineau, to see it as a male “preserve”.

The political scientist admits that mentalities have evolved since the introduction of quotas in the early 2000s. Emmanuel Macron also set an example by introducing parity into his movement La République en Marche (renamed Renaissance).

But she recalls that women are still rare in sovereign positions, such as justice, the police, finance, the armies or foreign policy.

“It’s a bit double-sided,” she says.

A workaholic

Former president of the Parisian transport company (RATP) and chief of staff of the socialist Ségolène Royal at the Ministry of Ecology, Elisabeth Borne has never been elected by universal suffrage.

But this technician, deemed loyal, is perceived by the macronie as having proven herself in government during the entire last five-year term.

Since 2017, she has been successively Minister of Transport, Minister of Ecological and Inclusive Transition, then Minister of Labour, Employment and Integration. She carried out reforms sometimes considered unpopular.

Reputed to be tenacious during the negotiations, she would have left bad memories for the unions, in particular during the railway reform of 2018, which had caused numerous strikes in France, and for the reform of unemployment insurance in 2021, when she was minister work.

Elisabeth Borne would also be a workaholic capable of being quite exhausting for those around her, which would have earned her the nickname “Born-out” in the corridors of ministries.

But his profile seems quite suited to the main directions that Emmanuel Macron wishes to give to a second term, which promises to be more social and greener.

Among his priority files are, among other things, the delicate pension reform (launched during the first five-year term, but not completed due to the health crisis) and the major ecological projects announced by the president.

His appointment also comes up against the new left-wing coalition formed by Jean-Luc Mélenchon (La NUPES), which is aiming for a majority in the legislative elections scheduled for June 12 and 19. With Elisabeth Borne at Matignon, more moderate left-wing voters could indeed be tempted by candidates from the Macronist constellation, rather than by the radical left embodied by Mélenchon.

It remains to be seen whether Elisabeth Borne will hold office longer than Edith Cresson, prime minister under Mitterrand, who had to resign in 1992 under humiliation and sexist insults.

In any case, this is what Thomas Guénolé strongly wishes. “It’s a second chance to prove the obvious, that is to say that a woman is as fit to lead as a man,” he concludes.

With Agence France-Presse