The composition of the new government gave rise to a first arm of the sea between Emmanuel Macron and his new Prime Minister, Jean Castex. But Edouard Philippe's replacement showed that he had a sponsor, by obtaining the appointment of Gérald Darmanin to the Ministry of the Interior.
Gérald Darmanin is the new Minister of the Interior. He had dreamed of it for a long time, but his appointment was the issue of a first showdown between Jean Castex and Emmanuel Macron, who had another candidate in mind.
Yes, it was Jean Michel Blanquer who was to become the first cop in France. It was the choice of the President of the Republic, while the Prime Minister wanted to give this portfolio to Gérald Darmanin. And Jean Castex had to fight to impose this idea on Emmanuel Macron. A showdown at the top of the state that has long blocked the mechanics of the reshuffle.
Initially, Gérald Darmanin was intended to recover a large Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs with the highly sensitive file of pensions, placed under the responsibility of Olivier Veran. But the Minister of Health, supported by Emmanuel Macron, flatly refused to part with the pension issue. It was then that Gérald Darmanin demanded the Minister of the Interior, even going so far as to suggest that he could leave the government. Finally, at the end of the afternoon, Jean Castex was successful. Emmanuel Macron gave in: there was no question of starting his new path with an exit from the road.
"You will see that my character is not soluble in the term of collaborator," warned Jean Castex in the JDD this weekend. Of which act. The Prime Minister exists and Emmanuel Macron met him on his way.