Two years from the end of his mandate and as France undertakes a return to normalcy after the Covid-19 crisis, President Emmanuel Macron announced the appointment of a new Prime Minister. Jean Castex, former collaborator of Nicolas Sarkozy and Xavier Bertrand, mayor Les Républicains de Prades (Pyrénées-Orientales) and government adviser on the deconfinement strategy, succeeds Edouard Philippe.

"A Macronian choice, in line with the spirit of overcoming carried by the president for three years", according to the Élysée, which presents the new Prime Minister as a man who "comes from the right but is a social Gaullist".

For Roselyne Febvre, political columnist at France 24, the choice of Emmanuel Macron is a continuation of the path traced since the beginning of the quinquennium by embodying the "at the same time" dear to the president. "This appointment is full of symbols: he is a techno profile but also a man in the field who can address the territories and who has experience as director of hospitals in 2005 ... It is a sort of Swiss knife ".

For the political scientist Emmanuel Rivière, interviewed on France 24, the particularity of the announcement stems from the fact that Jean Castex is unknown to the general public. However, the fact that he advised the government on the deconfinement strategy is far from trivial: "This is a blank page for the French. However, the change of Prime Minister comes at a time when the crisis The challenge for Jean Castex today is to quickly achieve mastery and transparency in the eyes of the public on this issue. "

Keep the direction

Jean Castex, who should form his government quickly, will enter Matignon on Friday afternoon. He will be the guest at 8 p.m. on TF1, at the end of a day where the President of the Republic has accelerated the reshuffle expected for weeks. 

"The course on which I embarked on in 2017 remains true," reaffirmed Emmanuel Macron, Thursday, in an interview with the regional press. 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 Emmanuel Macron began to design, with a priority on health policy, the 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 modified "path", rather than an ecological figure or a political heavyweight, the Head of State preferred a technocratic profile, elected local and high official. A choice that leaves her hands free, after three years of cordial agreement with Édouard Philippe, who was gaining increasing weight in government strategy and opinion. With more and more marked dissensions, notably for the pension reform.

Added to this is the fact that Jean Castex's chief of staff will be Nicolas Revel, a close friend of Emmanuel Macron who had tried, in vain, to impose him on Edouard Philippe on his arrival in Matignon.

Note that the first circle of power will include three former deputy secretaries general of the Élysée - Emmanuel Macron and Nicolas Revel under François Hollande and Jean Castex under Nicolas Sarkozy - and as before four enarchs including Alexis Kohler, right arm of Emmanuel Macron as secretary general of the Élysée.

For the president of the Republicans Christian Jacob, Jean Castex represents a "technocratic" choice but "from the moment he joins the policy led by Emmanuel Macron, obviously he is no longer with the Republicans". "In terms of betrayals, we have already given" he launched, referring to Édouard Philippe, also from LR.

"I know and I appreciate the qualities of 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, while those close to Edouard Philippe welcomed his action in government.

On the left, this appointment was believed to demonstrate a continuation of a "right-wing" policy. "With the appointment of Jean Castex, the President of the Republic confirms his course without surprise. The next day will be right as the day before," said Olivier Faure (PS).

The composition of the new government should be known before Wednesday, the date scheduled for the next cabinet meeting.

New stage

During an interview Thursday, "the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister established a shared finding as to the need for a new government to embody a new stage of the quinquennium, a new path", explained the Élysée at the announcement of the resignation of Edouard Philippe.

"During this warm and friendly meeting, the president thanked the Prime Minister for the work accomplished, in particular the important reforms carried out for the modernization of the country and the preservation of our social model".

The new government will "implement the new stage of the quinquennium, the social, economic, environmental and local reconstruction project whose president outlined the main directions during his speech on June 14 and which became clearer during the cycle extensive consultations conducted in recent weeks, "said the Elysee.

When the government's resignation was announced, all ministerial activity was immediately halted. The Council of Ministers, scheduled for Friday morning, did not take place. At the Assembly, where the third draft revised budget was being examined, the meeting was suspended.

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