INTERVIEW
If there is one who is delighted with the last reshuffle, it is François Bayrou. The president of the Modem, invited Sunday on Europe 1 of the "Great talk", did not have enough sweet words to describe the new Prime Minister, Jean Castex. "I think it was a very good choice. He is a man of the field", rejoiced the mayor of Pau, before citing all the experiences of the mayor of Prades. The latter was also president of agglomeration, regional adviser and deputy secretary general of the presidency of the Republic under Nicolas Sarkozy. "While having a perfect knowledge of the state from above, he knows France from below." A very complete CV and "a very important range of experiences", according to François Bayrou.
"He brings something to French political life"
Because the Béarnais swears by this, the experience. "It is an irreplaceable asset," he said. And then Jean Castex also has "a style" which appeals to him. "I find him refreshing and he doesn't speak to say nothing. He doesn't look for skills to avoid questions. He brings something else to French political life." Precious for the last part of Emmanuel Macron's five-year term.
Is Jean Castex, as some observers have said, the man in the shadows who will allow Emmanuel Macron to take all the light, when an Edouard Philippe was too popular? "The role of Prime Minister is precious, I have never participated in the idea that it should be suppressed", sweeps François Bayrou. "I never believed, as Nicolas Sarkozy said, that the Prime Minister was a collaborator. There is a complementarity [between him and the president] useful and necessary."