Covid-19: who is Jean Castex, the French government's "Monsieur déconfinement"?

He is the "Monsieur déconfinement" of the French government. Jean Castex, 54, was commissioned by President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister, Édouard Philippe, to develop the strategy for exiting containment, which has been going on since March 17 to stop the spread of Covid-19.

On April 2, when his appointment was announced, Édouard Philippe praised "a senior official who knows the world of health perfectly and who is formidable in efficiency".

Jean Castex is responsible for solving the puzzle of the progressive deconfinement of the French population in a context where the new coronavirus has not completely disappeared. A challenge that does not scare this enarch, used to complex files, who can rely on a professional and political life very largely oriented towards the social sector and health.

"Clear and outspoken ideas"

After graduating from the ENA in 1991, admitted to the Court of Auditors, Jean Castex chose a post of director of health and social affairs in the Var. Then he joined the local prefecture before becoming, in 2005-2006, director of hospitalization and organization of care at the Ministry of Solidarity and Social Cohesion. This is where he will be spotted by Xavier Bertrand, who will make him his chief of staff twice, first at the Ministry of Health (2006-2007) and then at Work (2007-2008).

"During the first pandemic plan (for the H5N1 virus in 2006, Editor's note), it is Jean Castex who is dircab", recalls Xavier Bertrand, to AFP, stressing that "WHO had then indicated that we were one of the best prepared countries in the world. "

"The side 'I put you in place a plan that does not work on the ground', this is really not the kind of house Castex", adds the president of the Hauts-de-France region, praising "the clear ideas and outspokenness "of this" rectified enarch elected local ".

A political  journey  to the right

"Politically, I'm right and I assume it perfectly", liked to underline Jean Castex at the time, according to AFP.

A member of the Les Républicains party, he is particularly close to Nicolas Sarkozy, of whom he was the assistant secretary general at the Élysée. This does not prevent him from supporting the candidacy of François Fillon for the presidency of the UMP during the congress of autumn 2012.

He also knows how to take care of support for La République en Marche: his name had been circulated at the end of 2018 to replace Gérard Collomb at the Ministry of the Interior before the ex-socialist Christophe Castaner was preferred to him.

Until his appointment on April 2, he was also inter-ministerial delegate for the Paris-2024 Olympic Games and major sporting events, and chaired the National Sports Agency.

An elected representative in contact

This high official also knows how to maintain a local attachment. This father of four has retained the southern accent and remains very attached to his native Gers. Since 2008, he has been mayor of Prades, where he has also been widely re-elected with 76% of the vote in the first round of municipal elections, 48 ​​hours before confinement.

Prades: Jean Castex elected with more than 75% of the votes cast https://t.co/YN2OsBhIlp #municipales #perpignan #politique

He was also regional councilor of Languedoc-Roussillon from 2010 to 2015 and presented himself for deputation during the legislative elections of 2012, during which he was beaten by the PS candidate, Ségolène Neuville.

By giving it "the pulse of the country", this territorial anchoring could prove to be a "master asset" to prepare for the deconfinement, estimates Franck Louvrier, former adviser to Nicolas Sarkozy, questioned by AFP: "It is precious" because it will be necessary to "win the support of all those who decide locally".

Local elected officials who, according to BFMTV, are at the heart of Jean Castex's consultations on deconfinement. He thus received a contribution from the Association of Mayors of France (AMF), which claims that the future system should be "framed nationally but adaptable to the most local level".

"He will know how to say things" to the executive

"He knew how to say things to Nicolas Sarkozy," said a witness, quoted by RTL. "If he has to tell Emmanuel Macron or Édouard Philippe that there is something wrong, he will also know how to do it." What strain relations with the two heads of the executive?

"It is not a mailbox, Castex, it is intended to give its opinion," said a relative of the Prime Minister. "He is very integrated into the Matignon teams," explains the entourage of Emmanuel Macron, interviewed by BFM TV, who stresses that if the final arbitrations will be in the hands of the Head of State and Edouard Philippe, " Jean Castex is consulted ".

A key role that makes jealous in the ministries, according to RTL. An anonymous advisor scoffs like this: "Beware, Jean-Paul Delevoye was a great pension specialist!"

Xavier Bertrand reminds him that his former protégé does not necessarily have all the cards in hand. Jean Castex "will not arrive with a miracle solution immediately", he warns, because "everyone understood that the conditions for leaving containment would also depend on the number of masks and tests".

With AFP

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