Paris (AFP)
Emmanuel Macron decided Friday to replace Edouard Philippe in Matignon by Jean Castex, 55, his "Mr. Deconfinement", unknown to the general public, sign that the Head of State takes over the reins to apply the "new path" announced for the end of the quinquennium.
"Be good!", Launched Edouard Philippe to his successor during the handover, praising "the political sense", "the fine knowledge of the country" and "the intelligence" of the high official who will, according to him, " make the right decisions. "
He had previously said "measure the immensity of the task" that awaits him, in a press release posted on the site of the town of Prades (Pyrénées-Orientales) of which he is now ex-LR mayor, claiming to have accepted this charge "taking into account the exceptional circumstances in which our country finds itself".
Ex-collaborator of Nicolas Sarkozy and Xavier Bertrand, Jean Castex represents "a Macronian choice, in conformity with the spirit of overcoming carried by the president for three years", according to the Elysée for which he comes, like his predecessor, "from the right but is a social Gaullist. "
Jean Castex, who should finalize his government over the weekend, will be the guest at 8 p.m. on TF1. The composition of the new government should be refined over the weekend, before the next Council of Ministers scheduled for Wednesday.
"There will be new talents" and "personalities from different backgrounds," said Emmanuel Macron on Thursday.
They will have to "implement the new stage of the quinquennium, the project of social, economic, environmental and local reconstruction", underlined the Elysée.
Edouard Philippe, with whom Emmanuel Macron assured Thursday maintain a "unique relationship of trust", will find the town hall of Le Havre on Sunday. But he will remain in close contact with the head of state because, according to his entourage, he agreed to "help the president" to "consolidate the majority", weakened by the loss of the absolute majority in the Assembly, internal disputes and a fiasco in the municipal elections for LREM.
With the resignation of the government and the departure of Edouard Philippe, the President of the Republic seeks, within two years of the presidential election, to breathe new life into his five-year term.
- "Techno" -
"The course on which I embarked on in 2017 remains true," he reaffirmed in an interview with the regional press published on Thursday. But while a "very hard" return to the economic and social front is looming, the next government will be responsible for applying the "new path" that the head of state has started to draw, with priority to the policy of health, old age and a plan for youth. A change that promises to continue with notably the resumption of construction of the pension reform.
To embody this steep "path", rather than an ecological figure or a political heavyweight, the Head of State preferred a "techno" profile, elected local and high official. A choice that gives him a free hand, after three years of cordial agreement with Edouard Philippe who was gaining increasing weight in government strategy and opinion. And more and more marked dissensions, notably for pension reform.
Especially since the director of cabinet of Jean Castex will be Nicolas Revel, a close friend of Emmanuel Macron that the Head of State had tried, in vain, to impose on Edouard Philippe on his arrival in Matignon.
Note that the first circle of power will include three former assistant general secretaries of the Elysée - Emmanuel Macron and Nicolas Revel under François Hollande and Jean Castex under Nicolas Sarkozy - and, as before, four enarques including Alexis Kohler, right arm Emmanuel Macron as Secretary General of the Elysée Palace.
- "New talents" -
With Jean Castex, the head of state "will be even more in charge," summarizes Bernard Sananès, president of the Elabe institute.
For the president of the Republicans Christian Jacob, Jean Castex, who has just resigned from LR, represents a "technocratic" choice. "In terms of betrayals, we have already given" he launched, alluding to Edouard Philippe, also from LR.
"I know and I appreciate the qualities of a servant of the State of Jean Castex. They will be essential in the difficult times that we are going to know ... May they correct the bad choices of the President of the Republic", commented the president of the Hauts-de-France region Xavier Bertrand.
On the left, it was believed that this appointment demonstrated a continuation of a "right" policy. "The day after will be right like the day before," lambasted Olivier Faure (PS). Among environmentalists, Julien Bayou, number one of EELV, regretted the appointment of a new "right-hand man who has never heard on ecology".
Emmanuel Macron had reaffirmed in April, at the height of the Covid-19 epidemic, wanting to "reinvent itself" but without "renouncing" the reforms of the beginning of the quinquennium.
© 2020 AFP