Paris (AFP)
In the aftermath of the surprise appointments of Eric Dupond-Moretti to Justice and Roselyne Bachelot to Culture, Emmanuel Macron brings together the government of Jean Castex for his first Council of Ministers, with heavyweights of right and left reinforced for the end of the quinquennium.
The meeting is set at 3 p.m. for this new team made up at this stage of sixteen ministers, fourteen deputy ministers and a secretary of state. Other appointments, at the level of State Secretaries, are still expected in the coming days.
This new government is renewed up to a third compared to that of Edouard Philippe and it is marked by the return to politics of the former Chiraquian Minister of Health Roselyne Bachelot converted into a TV columnist. She takes the Culture portfolio.
She already carried out the change of powers with Franck Riester on Tuesday, saying he wanted to be "the minister of artists" and promised "states general of festivals", victims of the epidemic of Covid-19.
Another big surprise: the entry of a tenor of the bar, the criminalist Eric Dupond-Moretti as Minister of Justice.
Two arrivals that did not fail to highlight the editorialists, quite puzzled by these appointments. Thus Jean-Michel Bretonnier estimates in La Voix du Nord that these two ministers "are worth for their personality and their notoriety and not for their political weight".
For Pascal Coquis, in DNA, they are intended to "divert attention" from the right turn that has just been started.
"A center of gravity in the ... right center, without spectacular rallying coming from the left nor symbolic debauchery coming from the right", argues Nicolas Beytout in L'Opinion. The objective, according to him, is "to lock the device of public action in the perspective of 2022".
- Transfers -
In addition to these two appointments, the promotion of Gérald Darmanin to the Ministry of the Interior did not go unnoticed, replacing the former socialist Christophe Castaner. Their handover is scheduled for Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.
"It is a great honor for the grandson of an immigrant that I am to be appointed Minister of the Interior of our beautiful country" tweeted on Monday Mr. Darmanin, 37, grandson of an Algerian rifleman, born in a bar owner and a cleaning lady.
Several transitions are scheduled during the morning in the ministries, in particular between Nicole Belloubet and M. Dupond-Moretti at Justice, between Elisabeth Borne - appointed Minister of Labor - and Barbara Pompili at the Ecological Transition or between Didier Guillaume and Julien Denormandie at Agriculture.
On the right, Bruno Le Maire remains in the Economy, but two other large portfolios remain in the hands of personalities from the PS like Jean-Yves Le Drian in Foreign Affairs and Florence Parly in the Armed Forces.
An ex-Green who became LREM, Barbara Pompili takes charge of a super-ministry of the Ecological Transition with two deputy ministers, Emmanuelle Wargon (Housing) and Jean-Baptiste Djebbari (Transport).
Among those who keep their portfolio are Jean-Michel Blanquer (National education, but also youth and sports), Jacqueline Gourault (Cohesion of territories), Olivier Véran (Solidarity and health), Marc Fesneau (Relations with Parliament), Jean-Baptiste Djebbari (Transport), Frédérique Vidal (Higher education) and Roxana Maracineanu (Sports delegate).
Some new portfolios reflect presidential priorities, such as that of Citizenship entrusted to Marlène Schiappa or that of Transformation and the public service for Amélie de Montchalin, a ministry of execution, "delivery", commented on the Elysée Palace on Monday .
The government records few new "catches" on the right or on the left and few local elected officials except the Alsatian Brigitte Klinkert, president of the Haut-Rhin departmental council, appointed to employment and integration.
Local elected officials should, however, figure prominently among future state secretaries.
To make people forget the debacle of the municipal authorities and tackle the post-coronavirus crises, the new executive couple intends to speed up the pace. Jean Castex has planned to start receiving social partners from Wednesday evening, Thursday and Friday morning, particularly on the explosive pension issue.
Emmanuel Macron intends to specify his course for the rest of the quinquennium during an interview on July 14. It is only then that the Prime Minister can make his declaration of general policy before the National Assembly.
© 2020 AFP