“I’m going to pack my boxes, it always allows you to sort things out, put your things away, it never hurts”, smiled, under the gold of his ministry, a member of the government, a few days before the second round of the presidential election. Emmanuel Macron was re-elected President of the Republic on Sunday April 24, but a good part of his troops are about to leave.
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The Prime Minister, Jean Castex, had announced the color, from April 19 on France Inter. “After this re-election [d’Emmanuel Macron]in the days that follow, as tradition dictates, I will present my resignation and that of the government to the President of the Republic”he declared, without waiting for the results of the legislative elections of 12 and 19 June.
The former mayor of Prades (Pyrénées-Orientales), like many ministers, should leave his post. If he can theoretically be renewed, he himself affirmed that he was “of those who think that a new impetus after the re-election of the president must be found”. Words that resonate with those of Emmanuel Macron in an interview with FigaroApril 6. “You always have to choose the one that appears to be the most compatible with what you want to wear at a given time. In any case, this will mean continuing to move forward in overcoming”he had delivered about the choice of the tenant of Matignon.
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In March 2017, the candidate Macron had expressed the wish to appoint a woman Prime Minister. A wishful thinking since two men – Edouard Philippe and Jean Castex – have succeeded each other as head of government. Five years later, the rumor that a woman could be appointed to Matignon returns insistently. Names circulate without this necessarily being good news for those concerned, because the predictions of each other rarely come true.
The name of Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank (ECB) and ex-director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), has long been cited. “She definitely has the skill but hey, I feel like the hypothesis is getting away”, delivers a minister. A relative of Emmanuel Macron is much more scathing.
“Christine Lagarde? The hypothesis is as credible as Jean-Christophe [le président de l’UDI].”
A relative of Emmanuel Macronat franceinfo
The profile of Christine Lagarde, former minister of Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy, is marked on the right. However, Emmanuel Macron made a left turn between the two towers in order to seduce the electorate of Jean-Luc Mélenchon. He thus promised to appoint a Prime Minister “directly in charge of ecological planning”a concept dear to the leader of La France insoumise.
Another name came up in conversations: that of the Minister of Labour, Elisabeth Borne. The ex-boss of the RATP, passed by the cabinet of Lionel Jospin at Matignon, has arguments to put forward: she is a woman identified on the left and with an ecological sensitivity after her passage at the Ministry of Ecological Transition. “The two reforms considered ‘impossible’ of the five-year term, on the SNCF and unemployment insurance, it was Elisabeth Borne who piloted them”noted the boss of LREM deputies, Christophe Castaner, in Le Figaro.
“I have been supporting Emmanuel Macron for five years, I am at his disposal and he knows it”informed the interested party on South Radio. But, in the ranks of the macronie, the probability that it is designated is relativized.
“It is true that Elisabeth Borne is campaigning but I find that it is never a good sign to campaign to be Prime Minister.”
A ministerat franceinfo
“Born, don’t talk to me about it, I don’t want to be mean. The French have seen her too much as a minister and she is too technical”outright drops an LREM leader.
Another faithful has, at the moment, the wind in its sails: Julien Denormandie, the Minister of Agriculture and Food. This faithful Emmanuel Macron has the favors of the president with whom he has worked for a long time. Deputy director of cabinet of Emmanuel Macron at Bercy, he resigned in March 2016 to participate in the creation of En Marche!. The 40-year-old has been in all governments, holding the positions of Secretary of State for Territorial Cohesion, Minister in charge of Cities and Housing, before Agriculture since July 2020. He had been approached to be the director of Emmanuel Macron’s campaign, but the war in Ukraine prevented a formalization of the roles of each.
“Julien ticks all the boxes, he holds the rope for me”slips a minister, who recovers immediately: “Then I don’t want to campaign, it could bring him bad luck.” Others, however, warn against the “carbon copy of Emmanuel Macron” side. “Denormandie has a very good profile but he is too similar to the head of state, he is the same in younger”provides a history of macronie.
But Emmanuel Macron needs to reinvent himself. He himself promised a new method of government that involves citizens more in decision-making. To embody the new faces of his second five-year term, the president promised, in his interview with Figaro, “figures that allow to continue to give a dynamic” but also of “continue to bring out a new generation”.
“It will take a jump after the presidential election to give new impetus.”
Emmanuel Macronat Figaro
VSHow many ministers will remain in their posts? How many will earn stripes? Or will they leave the government? Nobody knows. A very close friend of Emmanuel Macron pleaded, before the first round, for a major reshuffle with profiles who are not technocrats.
In the corridors of ministries, rumors and ambitions are rife. The Health and Education portfolios whet appetites. “Everyone wants to be there, that’s where there will be the most resources”, slips a Secretary of State. During the campaign, Emmanuel Macron also suggested that he could experiment with his new method of government on these two themes. However, in Education, the position could be left free by Jean-Michel Blanquer after his longevity record, according to the JDD. Olivier Véran, Minister of Health, could remain in government, but in another position, according to France Inter.
Several other heavyweights are also on the way out, according to these two media: the Minister of the Armed Forces, Florence Parly, the Minister of Culture, Roselyne Bachelot, or even the Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti. The two ministers from the right, Bruno Le Maire, Minister of Economy and Finance and Gérald Darmanin, Minister of the Interior, hope to stay.
Among the entrants, the JDD and France Inter cite local elected officials such as the mayor of Angers (Maine-et-Loire), Christophe Béchu, or that of Poissy (Yvelines), Karl Olive. LREM deputies, such as the faithful Roland Lescure or Yaël Braun-Pivet, are also cited. A minister, crossed on the Champ-de-Mars on Sunday April 24 at the time of the announcement of the re-election of Emmanuel Macron, summed up, a bit ironically: “It’s the president who will decide.”