DIRECT. New Bayrou government: Michel-Edouard Leclerc minister? “Politicians ask me the question,” reveals the business manager

What names for which ministries?

According to the latest rumors, here is who could enter the government and in which ministry:
– Bruno Retailleau would remain Minister of the Interior
– Elisabeth Borne would become Minister of National Education
– Gerald Darmanin would return to the government as Minister of Foreign Affairs, even if Jean-Noël Barrot has Emmanuel Macron's preferences to remain in this position
– Patrick Mignola would become Minister of Relations with Parliament
– Didier Migaud would remain Minister of Justice
– Sébastien Lecornu would remain Minister of the Armed Forces
– Annie Genevard would remain Minister of Agriculture
– Geneviève Darrieussecq would remain Minister of Health
– Rachida Data would remain Minister of Culture
– Catherine Vautrin would remain Minister of Territories
– Xavier Bertrand, François Rebsamen, Pierre Moscovici, Saral El Haïry

New Bayrou-Macron meeting

Prime Minister François Bayrou and the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, who returned this morning from abroad, are due to meet during the day for final negotiations on the composition of the government, indicates Le Parisien. According to information from LCI, the government's announcement will not come before this Sunday afternoon at the earliest.

Michel-Edouard Leclerc minister?

Guest of LCI this afternoon, Michel-Edouard Leclerc was questioned about his possible desire to join the government of François Bayrou. “Since Pierre Bérégovoy, politicians have been asking me the question. I would really like it… I'm not spitting in the soup even if the sequence there doesn't make you want to. But frankly today I think I'm much more useful on the ground, including supporting political actions.”

“Bruno Retailleu is ready to do anything to remain minister”, tackles Eric Ciotti

In a post on X, Eric Ciotti attacks his former “friend” Bruno Retailleau whom he considers “ready to do anything to remain minister”. The latter in fact set his conditions for François Bayrou to remain in the government in an interview with JDD . According to BFMTV, he would have “obtained the guarantee of being able to continue his work in the fight against illegal immigration and in controlling legal immigration”.
In his interview with JDD, the resigning Minister of the Interior said he spoke with François Bayrou about several subjects such as sex education at school: “He rather reassured me on these questions and on the fact of not introduce the teaching of gender theory at school (…) the school must be protected from all activism.” Regarding the end of life, Retailleau indicates that his “red line” would be “that a government submits a bill.”

Record unpopularity for Bayrou

Government or not, François Bayrou begins his mission with a historically low popularity rating, with 66% of people dissatisfied according to the Ifop barometer- Sunday Newspaper . According to the JDD, Michel Barnier almost managed to retain the support of half the country three weeks after his appointment (55% dissatisfied) when Gabriel Attal and Élisabeth Borne (46% dissatisfied and 43% dissatisfied) benefited by comparison from a quasi “state of grace” after their appointment.

François Rebsamen: “I am ready to commit”

“Since 2012, I have repeatedly refused to be a minister. Today, I am ready to commit,” declared François Rebsamen, the former socialist minister of François Hollande who supported Emmanuel Macron in 2022, in an interview with The Tribune on Sunday. Today he calls on progressive forces to participate in government and plans to combine a ministry and his local mandate.

'I have had a relationship of trust with the Prime Minister for many years. I think he's the man for the job. He has the culture of compromise that the country needs, he showed it in 2012 by voting for François Hollande. All of this influences my decision,” explains François Rebsamen.

The PS closed the door

François Bayrou hoped to broaden the government base on which his predecessor Michel Barnier relied, but the socialists closed the door to participation in his team. Olivier Faure, the first secretary of the PS, had notably called for the suspension of pension reform as a condition for the socialists to enter the government.

A shooting window this Sunday for an announcement

This Sunday would be the ideal day to announce a new government before Christmas as promised by François Bayrou. Emmanuel Macron must indeed return to France this Sunday morning, after three days outside mainland France, first to Mayotte following the passage of Cyclone Chido, then to Djibouti and Ethiopia. Tomorrow, due to the national day of mourning decreed by the President of the Republic for the Mahorais, an announcement would be very surprising. Just like on December 24, when the French are in full preparations for Christmas Eve.

Laurent Wauquiez should not return to government

The leader of Les Républicains (LR) Laurent Wauquiez refused on Saturday to enter the government, according to participants in a meeting of his parliamentary group, but the right-wing party is however moving towards participation in François Bayrou's team . The LR senators in fact said they were in favor on Saturday evening of the participation of their political family in the government.

Referring to his “personal case”, according to participants in this meeting, Laurent Wauquiez declared: “The only possible configuration for me was Bercy (the Ministry of Finance) with a clear roadmap, in particular no increase in 'taxes. There is no road map. He (François Bayrou) offered me something else, I declined.

Retailleau, Borne, Bertrand, Darmanin, Rebsamen, Moscovici, Lecornu, Dati…

Among the names of political figures who could enter the government, we find some heavyweights including current ministers who have resigned and figures from the social democratic left. Elisabeth Borne could occupy the Ministry of Education, Gérald Darmanin that of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Retailleau would remain at the Interior, just like Sébastien Lecornu. Coming from the left, Pierre Moscovici and François Rebsamen could join the Bayrou team.

François Bayrou arrived early this morning in Matigon

François Bayrou's government could be announced this Sunday. “This is progressing (…) The structuring of the major ministerial centers is fixed,” explained Marc Fesneau, the president of the MoDem deputies and very close to François Bayrou, in La Tribune Sunday . He assures that the government's complete list should be presented “at once” and “before Christmas”.