Is Olivier Dussopt in difficulty? The minister is suspected by the justice of favoritism. Macronie is united around him… for the moment.
The main defender of Olivier Dussopt is at the Elysée. Emmanuel Macron brings his “full support” to the Minister of Labor. This is what he said on Wednesday February 8 in the Council of Ministers, according to the government spokesperson. The day before, the Elysee Palace had already leaked the president’s support for his minister to the press.
The National Financial Prosecutor’s Office has found an offense of “favoritism” concerning the award of a public contract. The case dates back to 2009. Olivier Dussopt was then mayor of Annonay, in Ardèche. Today, he disputes this accusation but this case comes at the worst time for him and for the pension reform. This is why the government is closing ranks. To drop Dussopt in the period would be to drop the reform.
Macron, Borne and most members of the government are multiplying the signs of support. “He is affected as a man but he is not weakened”explains a minister who rubs shoulders with him a lot at the moment.
Olivier Dussopt is often quoted by Emmanuel Macron
Regarding the reform, it will be weakened if the opposition decides to make a political argument. It is Olivier Dussopt in person who defends the file of pensions in the Assembly with Gabriel Attal for the first six articles. But he will be alone for the very sensitive article 7, that on the passage of the legal age to 64 years.
The fact that the president supports his minister so much can also be read as a sign of feverishness. Especially since there is like an enigma: very often Emmanuel Macron takes Olivier Dussopt as an example. On franceinfo in April, the president-candidate had praised the action of only one member of his government, the “talented budget minister”. Wednesday at the Elysée, the president’s support lasted several minutes according to a participant: “He praised Dussopt… It was long”taunts a minister.
If officially he is supported by everyone, if he is recognized as a hard worker and a good technician, Dussopt does not only have friends. Behind the scenes, some are wondering what earned him so much recognition. Others like to recall that, for lack of results, the Prime Minister had to take over the reform in December.
It might not take much for Dussopt to become a target, should the tide turn on the retreats.