French press review

In the spotlight: Elisabeth Borne, the “Swiss army knife”

Audio 04:00

The new French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne delivers her speech during the handover ceremony in the courtyard of the Matignon hotel, in Paris, on May 16, 2022. © AFP/Ludovic Marin

By: Frédéric Couteau Follow

4 mins

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“ 

With Élisabeth Borne, Emmanuel Macron has found his

“Swiss army knife”

 for Matignon

 ”: this is how

Le Monde

describes the new Prime Minister.

A term that would come from the entourage of the head of state.

And indeed, specifies

Le Monde,

as former Minister of Transport, Labor and Ecological Transition, Élisabeth Borne corresponds to the job description drawn up by Emmanuel Macron, who said he was looking for a leader of government

"attached to the social question, to the environmental question and to the productive question".

The faithful of the President of the Republic praise the choice of a

 "loyal" personality

, likely to send a message to the electorate on the left, from which she comes, and whose moderate profile would not be likely to frighten the right.

 »

A techno follows a techno…

So finally, “ 

everything changes and nothing changes

 ”, notes

La Croix

.

“ 

Elisabeth Borne's appointment to Matignon seems perfectly logical, as it sticks with the roadmap that the president drew up on the evening of his election.

His CV speaks in his favour.

She has for her to come from the moderate left, which is likely to reassure this flank of the majority.

Everyone also notes that, thirty years after Edith Cresson, a woman enters Matignon again.

In 2022, the real event would be that this is not one,

estimates the Catholic daily,

or, to put it another way, that we admit that Elisabeth Borne was appointed solely for her professional and political qualities.

The main lesson of this appointment is elsewhere,

notes

La Croix again.

This is a confirmation: Emmanuel Macron does not intend to change his way of exercising power in the five-year term that opens.

A techno follows a techno.

 »

We take the same...

Indeed, acquiesces

Les Échos

, “ 

if it is not her style, Elisabeth Borne does not change the profile of Prime Ministers according to Macron.

Unfailing loyalty, no known presidential ambition to date, hard work and technicality.

 »

“ 

An event, but no rupture,

adds

Liberation.

If we can finally rejoice in the appointment of a woman to Matignon, the signal sent by Emmanuel Macron testifies above all to his desire to continue the momentum of his first five-year term.

 »

So yes, she is a woman: " 

in this alone, the appointment of Elisabeth Borne is a positive sign

 ", says

L'Humanité

.

“ 

As for the rest, there are hardly any surprises to be expected from what looks like a game of musical chairs inside the outgoing executive.

We take the same and start again.

 »

Considerable challenges…

In any case, “ 

the challenges that Elisabeth Borne will have to face are considerable,

points out for its part

Le Figaro.

This left-wing woman who carried out reforms

(SNCF, unemployment insurance)

that the right should have carried out a long time ago is now at the head of a majority that promises to be plethoric as much as it is composite.

She will have to impose herself on her ministers, whom she will not have all

(to say the least)

chosen, tame the independent temperaments, the robust ambitions embodied, each in their own way, by Édouard Philippe, Richard Ferrand , Francois Bayrou.

At the Assembly

, continues

Le Figaro, it will have to contain the noise and the fury of the elected representatives of the Melenchonian left combined with the systemic mistrust of those of the National Rally.

Finally, against a background of rising prices and rates, it will have to carry out difficult reforms, including that of pensions, without provoking the anger of the social body.

Under this sky heavy with threats, technical performance will be nothing without political art.

 »

… in a heavy context

Indeed, the Prime Minister arrives at Matignon in a heavy context, also note

The Latest News from Alsace

… “ 

Élisabeth Borne takes the head of the government while the country is barely emerging from the health crisis, and nothing says that she will not bounce.

It will have to deal with an explosive international situation whose consequences on our daily lives are not yet fully known.

She will, like Jean Castex, manage an exceptional situation, while waiting to be able, perhaps, to launch the reforms of the mandate, in dialogue.

We take her at her word

.

»

Finally, remarks

Ouest France

, “ 

the way things have just unfolded suggests that Emmanuel Macron remains

“the master of the clocks”.

He is the one who orchestrates and stages all the operations, making the suspense last.

Prefers the solidity, rigor and great technical mastery of the files to a more flamboyant personality, likely to

"overturn the table".

And fixes, in a tweet, the roadmap of its new Prime Minister

… (“Ecology, health, education, full employment, democratic renaissance, Europe and security”)

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