the strange waiting period for outgoing ministers who hope to return

It is still not clear when the rest of the government will be appointed. How is this uncomfortable period going for the outgoing ministers of the previous government and for their cabinets while awaiting a return to their posts?

Outgoing ministers who hope to return to the favor of future appointments are waiting in the waiting room, crossing their fingers, without knowing whether they will be appointed before or after Gabriel Attal’s general policy speech on January 30. Which would constitute a record, beating the 20 days of waiting of the Castex government in 2020.

Their occupations during this period of latency? Rest, drink coffee, read a book, enjoy family time, go for a bike ride… “It’s been 20 years since I last cut like that, excluding holidays”, confides one of them. But some work a little at home, just to “prepare for return”. Their advisors, who are no longer paid, are waiting to be called back, or have registered with Pôle emploi, just in case. They go jogging at hours unimaginable before, at 10:30 a.m. on Monday or 11 a.m. on Tuesday. “We are under tension, not really on vacation”explains an advisor who has not made her mark at the ministry “but just tidy up his desk a little”even if it means “come back in disaster” to empty everything if his boss is not renowned.

Outgoing ministers and cabinets cannot return to office since the appointment of the new government. But there is a special case, that of Stanislas Guerini. No one has regained the civil service, so he manages day-to-day affairs. The minister and his cabinet are in the office, with more flexible hours than normal. Stanislas Guerini was almost informally reappointed when Emmanuel Macron told parliamentarians on Monday that he “will have to carry” civil service reform.

“They are as gentle as lambs”

In the meantime, the major ministries are impatient with the arrival of reinforcements, because they have to take care of the emergencies of those leaving. Christophe Béchu, in the ecological transition, had four roommates: housing, transport, communities and biodiversity. Result: an empty ministry and an agenda “very dense”. Same in Bercy, Bruno Le Maire pleads for his four roommates to return: Jean-Noël Barrot for digital, Roland Lescure for industry, Olivia Grégoire for commerce and Thomas Cazenave for budget. For the moment it is the 15 advisors from Bruno Le Maire’s office who manage everything. “We are a very small team, like during confinement, it’s a bit scary”confides one of them.

Before the reshuffle, there were approximately five times as many people on deck, with the offices of delegated ministers plus that of energy at Agnès Pannier-Runacher, a file now attached to Bercy. Agnès Pannier-Runacher who should join health if all goes well. The additional list is eagerly awaited. Even if some leavers say they “serene” And “zens” nothing is assured until the last moment, especially for a government which should not exceed thirty members and where Modem and Horizons will want to be well treated. An advisor to the executive sees an advantage to this wait which seems interminable to those leaving: “They are as gentle as lambs”.