François Bayrou justifies his refusal to enter the government by addressing an indictment to the head of state

While his name had been circulating for three days around a possible appointment, François Bayrou announced Wednesday evening, he will not be part of the government. But during this intervention, the tone was particularly acidic.

Barely cleared and revived by the justice system, François Bayrou will have slammed the door of the government before it even opens. For three days, the rumor of his appointment had been growing. The head of MoDem was raising the stakes. He demanded five posts for his troops and National Education for himself. He thought, he said, that he could “correct the crisis of confidence” from school. But Emmanuel Macron offered him Defense. François Bayrou refused and he justified himself by addressing an indictment to the head of state.

Criticism of the profile of ministers already in place

He is very critical of the executive, evoking both “a difference in approach to method” of government and “a lack of deep agreement on the policy to follow”. We know that François Bayrou judges that the government leans too far to the right, that it is even too Sarkozy. He was also quite hostile to the appointment of Gabriel Attal as its head. For his part, the Prime Minister did not really want to integrate Bayrou into his team.

But beyond the tenant of Matignon, the centrist leader directly targets the head of state. And he supports macronism where it hurts, by denouncing “the gulf that has widened between the province and Paris” and the “increasing distance between citizens and public action”. These are two of the main criticisms that a large part of public opinion inflicts on Emmanuel Macron. Reproaches accentuated by the profile of the 15 ministers already appointed at the beginning of January: three quarters are from the Ile-de-France region, and not a single one comes from the south of the Loire.

Majority on the verge of a nervous breakdown

If the majority is not threatened by this crisis, it is in any case weakened. François Bayrou undoubtedly does not have the means to go directly into the opposition, especially at a time when the extreme right seems to be at the gates of power. But this crisis comes at the worst time, because it closes the interminable sequence of reshuffle. A month of waiting to complete the government with around fifteen delegate ministers and secretaries of state.

It was a month during which sectors which directly concern the daily lives of the French, such as housing, transport or health, did not have a dedicated minister. It was also a month of hesitation, of low blows behind the scenes, and upon arrival we found a majority on the verge of a nervous breakdown. For Emmanuel Macron, there is an urgent need to decide whether he finally wants to launch this second five-year term which continues to fail to get off the ground.