How the government on probation is preparing to celebrate the national holiday in an unprecedented political context after the legislative elections

“It could have been worse. We could have had Bardella sitting next to Macron in the presidential box,” sighs a former advisor to the government. In the absence of an absolute majority in the National Assembly and while no government coalition agreement has been reached at this time, it is the government of Gabriel Attal, still not resigning, which will be alongside the President of the Republic for the July 14 festivities, planned for Sunday. In addition to the unprecedented political context, the setting will be less grandiose than in past years, since the traditional military parade will take place on Avenue Foch and not on the Champs-Elysées, requisitioned for the Paris Olympic Games.

On the program for this 2024 edition: “The 80th anniversary of the Normandy and Provence landings, and the Olympics, twelve days before the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games”specifies the website of the Ministry of the Armed Forces. The Olympic flame will take this opportunity “his first steps in the capital”. This is the subject that the Minister of Sports will have in mind. Amélie Oudéa-Castéra “will be at the July 14 parade and on the Paris leg of the torch relayassures his entourage. She is focused on fine-tuning the final parameters of the organisation of the Games.”

Patricia Mirallès, Secretary of State for Veterans and Remembrance, also assures that she is at this time “still minister” and having taken over his files, such as the commemorations of the “80 years of the landing in Provence”. The former MP, who withdrew between the two rounds in her constituency of Hérault to block the National Rally, will therefore attend the parade.

Within the government, she is not the only one not to have been re-elected. “I am proud to have blocked the RN in my constituency and to have taken my responsibilitiesconfides Fadila Khattabi, the Minister Delegate responsible for People with Disabilities. I am also relieved to see that the RN does not have the majority. For me, that is the main thing.” It is in this state of mind “rather serene” that the minister, appointed at the end of July 2023, will participate in her first parade, from the presidential platform.

Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, Secretary of State for Citizenship and the City, who also withdrew to counter the extreme right in Marseille, albeit in vain, will also be present. “I have a sense of hierarchy, it’s the national holiday. We are not asked for states of mind but for service,” she delivers, while acknowledging that “For the government, but also for France, it will be a strange July 14 for everyone.”

“There are worse situations than being a minister and being invited to the 14th of July. It’s the national holiday, I hold my rank. You have to hold your rank.”

Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, Secretary of State for Citizenship and the City

to franceinfo

The loss of her seat as a member of parliament? “I’m too new to politics to make a disease of it and besides, life is long”she sweeps away. “None” Nor is there any nostalgia for the Minister of Transformation and Public Service, Stanislas Guerini, who was defeated in Paris by the ecologist candidate of the New Popular Front. He too will be present in the presidential tribune: “For me, this is the most basic sense of responsibility.” Other ministers were not candidates in the legislative elections and know that a page in their political life is also turning. This is the case of Bruno Le Maire, who remained in office at Bercy for seven years, and who will also be part of the parade. “He will do his job for the country until the end.”emphasizes those around him.

However, a few days before the celebrations, there was uncertainty about the presence of members of the government on July 14. “I’m likely to be there, if we’re still in operation by then.”confided on Wednesday the Minister Delegate for Public Accounts, Thomas Cazenave, re-elected in Gironde. “July 14 is still a long way off”smiled, the same day, the Minister Delegate for Europe, Jean-Noël Barrot, re-elected in Yvelines. But most of the members of the government will be present alongside the Head of State, with the exception of the Minister for Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, who will be in Angers. This close friend of Edouard Philippe should soon be returning to his mayor’s seat there.

Everyone knows that they could potentially remain in office for a long time within a government that would be responsible only for managing current affairs. On Wednesday, in a letter to the French people, the head of state asked the “republican forces” of “building a solid majority”while considering that it is necessary “give the political forces some time to build these compromises with serenity and respect for everyone”. A call immediately castigated by a large part of the political class, and in particular the left. In the government, there are therefore few illusions about a rapid outcome.

“It could still last for months, the political situation is not stable. And then, Emmanuel Macron is already taking two months to form a government with his own people, so now…”supports a member of the government. “We will continue as long as we have to, we will wait”a ministerial adviser adds. In the meantime, A seat in the presidential rostrum, traditionally reserved for the fourth highest ranking person in the state, will remain empty: that of the president of the National Assembly. Because the deputies will not proceed until July 18 to vote on who will sit in the perch.

As for the deputies, most of them should be in their constituencies for the July 14 festivities, like Geneviève Darrieussecq, former minister and re-elected deputy in Landes. “Let’s all remain modest. The most important thing is not the representation of the government in the stands but the parade, the men and women who participate in it and their units honoredshe puts it into perspective. The French love this event and it’s especially the parade that they watch!”