- After being Minister of Action and Public Accounts in the second government of Edouard Philippe, Gérald Darmanin was appointed Minister of the Interior by the new Prime Minister Jean Castex.
- He was also elected mayor of Tourcoing last March.
- Two functions that he can combine with the agreement of the President of the Republic.
But what is his project? Minister of Action and Public Accounts under the Philippe II government, Gérald Darmanin agreed, Monday, to succeed Christophe Castaner place Beauvau in the government of Jean Castex. A promotion for the one who is also, since last March, mayor of Tourcoing, in the North. Two functions which he combines with the blessing of the President of the Republic but which are not, in fact, necessarily compatible.
In 2014, Gérald Darmanin took the reins of the city of Tourcoing in the face and with the beard of the outgoing mayor (PS), Michel-François Delannoy. At the time, he was only 31 years old and was still at the UMP. Two years earlier, he had entered the National Assembly, becoming the youngest deputy in France. These two mandates, the native of Valenciennes will not bring them to an end. In 2017, after the election of Emmanuel Macron, Gérald Darmanin will leave his mayor's chair to Didier Droart to join the government and LREM. He would nevertheless remain the first assistant to, he said, "keep an eye on municipal files".
"He did all his municipal campaign on the choice of Tourcoing"
In February 2020, when Gérald Darmanin announced that he was a candidate in the municipal election in Tourcoing, he had assured: "If I am running for voters by being at the head of the list, it is to be mayor. A winning bet since he was elected in the first round with 60.88% of the vote (almost 75% abstention). However, he had not had to leave the government, having received from Emmanuel Macron the authorization to cumulate. "It is quite ironic to see him enter the Interior when he did all his municipal campaign on the choice of Tourcoing", loose Franck Talpaert, his opponent at the time and now in the municipal opposition.
So, can you be both mayor of a municipality of nearly 100,000 inhabitants and Minister of the Interior? "It is completely in its ropes, it has an incredible working capacity," says Brigitte Lherbier, Senator LR and city councilor in Tourcoing. In fact, the first cop in France has not (yet) expressed the wish to hand over to one of his assistants. “Whether he leaves or stays, it's not good for Tourcoing. This city needs a full-time mayor like the Interior needs a full-time minister, ”deplores the opposition municipal councilor. "I will be disappointed that he does not remain mayor, the majority are ready to work more to help him," insisted the senator. In this, it joins the remarks that Gérald Darmanin had made last February: “I always said that a mayor was not a mayor and 40 idiots. It is a municipal team. "
A presidential destiny?
It has been rumored for as long as Gérald Darmanin ran for Tourcoing and then ran for president of the European Metropolis of Lille (MEL). At the end of June, his possible metropolitan ambition took shape after the creation of a new political group at the MEL of which the mayor-minister had taken the lead. A scenario that is now moving away from his entry into the government of Jean Castex.
Our file on Gérald Darmanin
"Darmanin is clever enough to anticipate things widely," recognizes Franck Talpaert. "He's making his way," says Brigitte Lherbier. The senator, who has known Gérald Darmanin for a long time, predicts him a presidential destiny, but not at MEL.
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- Lille
- Jean Castex
- Government
- Minister of the Interior
- Mayor
- Tourcoing
- Gérald Darmanin