"The day after will be right like the day before": contrasting reactions to the appointment of Jean Castex

The vagueness on the tenant of Matignon was lifted Friday July 3. Édouard Philippe returns to Le Havre, freshly re-elected mayor of the city, and leaves his place as Prime Minister to Jean Castex, the government's "Monsieur déconfinement".

On the right, this new appointment to Matignon elicits contrasting reactions. Jean Castex resigned from the Les Républicains (LR) party in a letter received by the party on Friday morning, we learned from the party.

Jean Castex is "not identified as on the right" with the general public and he "never exercised any responsibilities" but "in fact, from the moment when he joined the policy led by Emmanuel Macron, well obviously he is no longer in the Republicans, "reacted Friday morning Christian Jacob, president of LR. According to him, "we could wait for a political turn, but it's technocratic" with a man "retained to manage current affairs".

Xavier Bertrand praised "the qualities of a servant of the State of Jean Castex". And the president of the Hauts-de-France region specifies: "They will be essential in the difficult times that we are going to know ..."

I know and appreciate the qualities of a state servant of @JeanCASTEX. They will be essential in the difficult times that we are going to know ... May they correct the poor choices of the President of the Republic. #reworking

Valérie Pécresse congratulated Jean Castex in a tweet on his appointment. "Let us hope that it translates a political shift by Emmanuel Macron towards more firmness, the fight against fractures and decentralization", continues the president of the Île-de-France Region.

More measured attitude for Stéphane Troussel (Socialist Party), who certainly praises the "ability" of Jean Castex "to maintain good personal relationships, to put the subjects on the table in all clarity", or even to "assume the cleavages" . But "his role as Prime Minister is a game-changer," said the president of the Seine-Saint-Denis Departmental Council, for whom Emmanuel Macron "has impelled a policy of right and right" since the start of his five-year term.

"The right succeeds the right"

A "right" nomination is the watchword in most political reactions to the left. For Olivier Faure, head of the PS, "the President of the Republic confirms his course without surprise. The next day will be right as the day before." PS spokesman Boris Vallaud is on the same line, saying on Twitter that "the right succeeds the right".

A Sarkozyst succeeds a juppeist, the right succeeds the right. https://t.co/CgZv28kgLF

Manon Aubry (MEP La France insoumise) deplores, meanwhile, that "everything changes so that nothing changes" with the appointment of Jean Castex "to conduct the same anti-social and anti-ecological policy."

We do not think less of the new Prime Minister at EELV, where the number one of the ecological party, Julien Bayou, points to the "end of a false suspense": "A man on the right succeeds a man on the right, that we have never heard about ecology. "

"What citizens expect is a big shift on ecology and solidarity," said Matthieu Orphelin, member of the group Écologie Démocratie Solidarité, on BFM TV. "These are not the themes on which we most expect Jean Castex."

"The president wants to govern alone"

Finally, the arrival of Jean Castex in Matignon is perceived by several political figures as a maneuver by Emmanuel Macron in view of the 2022 presidential election. Jean-Christophe Lagarde (UDI), sees there "a clear message": "The President wants to govern alone and directly to prepare the presidential. It does not make too much reinvention, but rather already seen, "said the boss of the UDI.

The appointment of Jean #Castex to Matignon, after Edouard Philippe refused to follow him in his spending curve, is a clear message! The President wants to govern alone and directly to prepare for the presidential election. It's not too reinvention but rather already seen.

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, president of Debout la France, believes on Twitter that "by appointing Jean Castex to Matignon, Emmanuel Macron effectively suppresses the institutional and political function of the Prime Minister and takes all the powers."

A line that Eric Ciotti also defends on Twitter, for whom "Emmanuel Macron dissolves Matignon". "Threatened by the popularity of Edouard Philippe, it is now drifting more and more towards a completely personal and authoritarian power", estimates the deputy LR.

With AFP

The France 24 week summary invites you to come back to the news that marked the week

Take international news everywhere with you! Download the France 24 app