• Former Minister of Labor Elisabeth Borne was appointed Prime Minister on Monday by Emmanuel Macron.

  • The President of the Republic, re-elected on April 24, took his time to choose his head of government.

  • A long wait for the ministerial offices in place and the political figures approached to enter the future government.

True to form, Emmanuel Macron took his time.

Re-elected on April 24, the head of state had not yet revealed anything about his future government.

But the suspense began to end on Monday with the resignation of Jean Castex.

At the start of the evening, Elisabeth Borne was appointed to Matignon to succeed him.

The former Minister of Labor will have the first task of finding the right profiles to form the government.

And finally put an end to the interminable wait of political staff, who have been watching for the slightest sign for three weeks to know their future.

In this moment of hesitation, conducive to rumours, the last hours of waiting are difficult for the outgoing teams as well as for the ministers approached.

“Even if you are in the first circle, you can fall by the wayside”

“There is then no certainty, none.

Even if you are in the first circle, you can fall by the wayside.

Your fate depends on political balances that escape you,” says Roger Karoutchi, former Secretary of State for Relations with Parliament under Nicolas Sarkozy.

“The president is the master of the clocks to keep you waiting.

But there, it's particularly long, it must be terrible for those who hope to stay but who haven't been told anything yet.

Especially since in these moments, the rumor circulates: those who will stay already know it, has fun Senator LR Hauts-de-Seine.

Yet there is nothing to do, so you read the articles and wait…”

A wait all the longer as the rumors are rife.

Since April 24, the media have been listing the names of ministers soon to be dismissed or future conscripts.

This is particularly the case of Christelle Morançais, LR president of the Pays-de-la-Loire regional council.

“His name was mentioned as a minister, then even at Matignon… Some must have fun but it's only speculation, there has never been any contact with the Elysée.

She made it clear that she was focusing on the area, sweeping her surroundings.

All this makes us smile and unlike others, I imagine, we are not in a moment of hesitation.

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“We are being prepared to leave, with all the coldness of the administration”

In the current ministerial teams, it is quite the opposite.

Even the former heavyweights of Macronie, who wish to continue the adventure, are in uncertainty, like Jean-Michel Blanquer at National Education or Eric Dupond-Moretti at Justice.

“We are in a huge artistic blur.

Some ministers are feverish or in total flip and wallow in silence.

Mine looks extremely confident, so I'm even more suspicious.

Because in these periods, when you are calm, it is because we are putting it upside down for you, ”breathes an experienced ministerial collaborator.

“It can be very long and painful for everyone, so we don't talk about it much.

If we make predictions all day, we go crazy.

What is destabilizing is that we are not sure of being renewed, but that we are being prepared to leave,

with all the lack of humanity and the coldness of the administration.

The first thing you are told is that you have to register with Pôle Emploi…”, she adds.

A vision shared by another advisor.

“This is the moment when the administration reminds us that we are only passing through, which is true, but sometimes with a certain meanness.

We bring you your boxes, we disconnect your telephone line or we archive your mailbox even while you are still in office, and potentially you have a chance of being renewed, ”illustrates an employee of the previous Macron five-year term.

“You have to stay calm and continue to do the job.

But the wait is long, and you don't know what you're waiting for, a call can mean you're leaving or you're staying,” he recalls.

Other members of the government put an end to the suspense by announcing their departure themselves.

This is the case of the former Minister of Transport, Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, who has already left for the private sector and far from the government transfer window.

For others, the news, good or bad, will only be known a few hours before the official announcement.

Roger Karoutchi remembers his departure in June 2009. “It was a cold shower, because two days before, Fillon said to me, “no worries, you stay”.

The day before, he said to me, "you stay but you will change position".

And the same day, I left.

The Vice-President of the Senate is having fun with it today.

“I had few boxes to do.

This is also the only advice I give to future ministers: above all, do not take the official apartment.

Because the worst thing is having to move in a few hours…”

Policy

Who is Elisabeth Borne, a hard-working and loyal worker in the service of Emmanuel Macron?

Policy

Matignon: Jean Castex's "very simple, very classic" letter of resignation is ready

  • Redesign

  • Government

  • Minister

  • Prime Minister

  • Emmanuel Macron

  • John Castex

  • Elisabeth Borne