As the end of the “100 days” draws near, a shake-up could be looming. The Prime Minister seems less threatened than a few weeks ago, but other ministers risk losing their portfolios.
While defending at the perch of the Assembly the 17th motion of censure tabled by the opposition since her arrival at Matignon, Élisabeth Borne surprised everyone by clinging to her post as Prime Minister. The Matignon tenant has begun to lay the groundwork for new projects, beyond the famous 100-day roadmap, touting the “courage” of his government.
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If Elisabeth Borne is less threatened than a few weeks ago, there is still some reshuffling in the air. It’s an unmistakable sign: the phones are heating up, courtiers are more pressing, and CVs are piling up on Emmanuel Macron’s desk. “He looks at what works and what doesn’t”says one of his followers, who ensures that a reshuffle is being prepared behind the scenes, “before July 14”.
Elisabeth Borne clings to Matignon
Contrary to what he had initially suggested, Emmanuel Macron no longer wants to drag on too much: there is no question of waiting for the end of the famous “100 days”timetable given to Elisabeth Borne, to try to get the country out of the post-pension reform political and social crisis. “All the major milestones of the roadmap have been laid down”defends the entourage of the Prime Minister, who quotes pell-mell France Work, the announcements for early childhood, the green industry law.
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“She does the job very well”admits a minister, who recognizes all the same, with a grimace, that a problem remains. “Macron and Borne are still not ideologically aligned, he pretends that it exists.” Moreover, more than ever, the names of Julien Denormandie or Richard Ferrand, faithful among the faithful of the president, continue to circulate to replace her. But Elisabeth Borne hangs on: “He would like to change it, but the conditions are not met”, assures a confidant of the Head of State. In other words: there is no new political deal, the majority is always relative, and to date, an agreement or an alliance with Les Républicains still seems to be a political fiction.
Some ministers threatened
Some ministers should therefore bear the brunt of the new impetus that Emmanuel Macron intends to give to his five-year term, before the summer. There are good and bad students. In the crosshairs, we find the ministers embarrassed by their legal setbacks, Eric Dupond-Moretti and Olivier Dussopt, those who are no longer in the odor of sanctity, such as the media Marlène Schiappa or the ministers from civil society, François Braun, in in charge of health, or the Minister of National Education Pap Ndiaye.
“The two major public services are weakened, they have not taken their subjects head on”tackles one of their comrades, who regrets, for example, the management of the Lindsay affair, this 13-year-old girl who committed suicide in mid-May. “Pap is a good researcher, but minister, it’s a job. He should have done the 8 p.m. of TF1, to have harsh words against harassment.” A sufficient example for tongues to loosen: “The team does not hold up”engages an adviser curtly.
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To renew the cast, more seasoned profiles, experienced in TV sets, with a more political CV, are targeted. “We have to be a team of attackers, not defenders”, decides a leading minister. Hence the idea put forward behind the scenes: to draw on the pool of deputies, some strategists are also looking at the Senate, which will be renewed by half in September – a Senate which is in the majority Republicans, provincial mayors are also polled. But a difficulty persists: less than four years from the end of the five-year term, Macronie still does not have a bench and the post of minister is no longer so dreamy.