“Nothing for this evening, from what I’ve been told,” said a majority official late Wednesday afternoon, when an announcement had seemed imminent for several hours.
A ministerial advisor reported a “blockage” on the LR president of Hauts-de-France, Xavier Bertrand, whose government risks being censored from the outset by the National Rally and the New Popular Front.
“Bertrand is most likely 100% dead,” added another advisor, referring to an “anti-Bertrand front” among Macronist MPs “because he would never have had a majority on any text.”
Other right-wing profiles are starting to circulate again in the presidential camp, including that of the former European Commissioner Michel Barnier. That of the mayor of Cannes and president of the Association of Mayors of France (AMF), David Lisnard, who was brought forward during the day, is now moving away in turn.
The head of state is under pressure from all sides to make a choice almost three months after the dissolution that he himself provoked on June 9, and two months after the second round of legislative elections which resulted in a fragmented Assembly on July 7.
Against the backdrop of an almost insoluble equation: how to avoid an immediate censure of the government, whatever it may be, in an Assembly where none of the three blocs has an absolute majority and no viable coalition has emerged?
RN and PS referees
In this inextricable situation, Emmanuel Macron is leaning towards a “political” Prime Minister, after having explored the path of civil society in the person of Thierry Beaudet – a man unknown to the general public, president of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council.
According to a close friend of the president, Xavier Bertrand, like Bernard Cazeneuve, provided “more stability” than Lucie Castets, the candidate of the New Popular Front, rejected by Emmanuel Macron. A conclusion he seems to have finally come back to.
Both are far from being assured of escaping immediate censorship, based on the statements of the various political forces consulted by the head of state. The bet is therefore risky for the head of state, who has made “non-censorability” the main criterion for his appointment.
Failing that, the Republicans, who on Tuesday opened the door to the nomination of Xavier Bertrand after having maintained their refusal to participate in any government or coalition, could offer another candidate.
The RN is head-on opposing the Hauts-de-France boss, whom it considers too hostile to its ideas and its voters. If the Le Pen party and its allies loyal to Eric Ciotti were to vote for a censure filed by the left, the latter could obtain up to 335 votes, well above the 289 votes required to overthrow a government.
Impatience
The RN, which would also censor a Cazeneuve government, is less hostile to other right-wing figures, such as the former centrist minister Jean-Louis Borloo quoted by Sébastien Chenu on LCI, because he “behaves well” towards him.
On the left, the threat of censure was also brandished against a Bertrand team. The Insoumis – who refused on Tuesday to speak again with the president – even continue to affirm that they will censure any other Prime Minister than Lucie Castets.
The leader of the Socialists, Olivier Faure, expressed strong reservations about Bernard Cazeneuve, but without completely closing the door. It would be “a kind of anomaly” to choose “the only man of the left who fought against the Popular Front,” he judged on TF1.
“Whatever the name, we want the repeal or moratorium of the pension reform, wage increases and an increased budget to invest in public services,” also argued on RTL the national secretary of the Communist Party Fabien Roussel. Before ironizing on BFMTV about this “bad soap opera” which resembles “The Young and the Restless.”
“The more time passes, the more catastrophic it becomes. Anger is growing. People are asking us when we will start working. There is an urgent need to act, otherwise the streets will take over,” warned the head of the centrist group Liot, Stéphane Lenormand.
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