In France, the coalition of left-wing parties that came out on top in the legislative elections agreed on Tuesday to propose to President Emmanuel Macron a senior civil servant unknown to the general public who is committed to defending public services, for the post of prime minister.
Lucie Castets, 37, is involved in “associative struggles for the defense and promotion of public services”, but also “in the battle of ideas against retirement at 64” and she is a “senior civil servant who has worked on the repression of tax fraud and financial crime”, specifies a press release from the NFP.
An hour before Emmanuel Macron’s television interview and after 16 days of negotiations that nearly caused the left’s union to implode, the partners of the New Popular Front — socialists, environmentalists, La France insoumise (radical left) — finally managed to agree on a name.
The president, however, clarified on Tuesday that he would not appoint a new government before the end of the Olympic Games “in mid-August”, because that would “create disorder” during this global sporting event organized in Paris.
“Obviously, until mid-August, we have to be focused on the Games. And then, from there […]”It will be my responsibility to appoint a prime minister and entrust him or her with the task of forming a government and having the broadest possible gathering that will allow him or her to act and have stability,” said the head of state during a televised interview.
The NFP has been claiming the premiership since it came out on top in the legislative elections — ahead of the presidential camp, which came second, and the far right, which came third — but without an absolute majority. The alliance believes that Mrme Castets will be “strong in our complete commitment to her in the government that she will lead.”
Ms. Castets is unknown to the general public. Currently director of finance and purchasing for the Paris municipality, she is one of the leading figures of a collective called “Our Public Services”, resolutely opposed to the outgoing government’s policy on the civil service.
“She has a remarkable professional career in the service of the State and local authorities, with strong commitments to tax justice and the fight against tax evasion,” Arnaud Bontemps, co-founder of the collective “Our Public Services”, told AFP.
“She is a person who is very committed to school, the hospital, social justice,” he added. “She moves very quickly on sometimes very complex subjects, she is very human, close to people,” he assured.