Invited to the “Grand Jury RTL-Le Figaro-Public Sénat-M6”, the head of the MoDem considered “neither possible nor desirable” the presence of RN ministers in an enlarged government.
Among the options for resolving the infernal equation of Matignon, François Bayrou was leaning more towards that of Bernard Cazeneuve, the big favorite of the summer. The presidential choice finally fell on Thursday evening on Michel Barnier, from the right-wing benches. Not enough to disorient the head of the MoDem and ally of the head of state: « I will support Barnier, I will do everything I can to make it work. »he promised this Sunday on the set of “Grand Jury-RTL-Le Figaro-Public Sénat-M6”.
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It does not matter that his troops did not seem particularly enthusiastic about the appointment of the former European Commissioner. « The parliamentary world is a world in which it is quite easy to play bowling. You throw the ball because it is fun to knock down the pins. »swept aside the mayor of Pau (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), who is due to meet the new prime minister this Sunday afternoon.
The High Commissioner for Planning, who would not have refused a promotion to Matignon, also finds many assets in the Brexit negotiator: « It will allow the majority to be broadened, to create one in the Senate (…) It has a reassuring image in Brussels, that is very important. » Less than one « cohabitation »the Christian Democrat sees rather a « co-responsibility » between Michel Barnier and Emmanuel Macron, in which the two men will exercise their respective powers, delimited by the Constitution.
Nevertheless, François Bayrou submitted a first demand to the head of government: to form a new team. « balanced » with personalities from both the right and the left. Including from the ranks of the MoDem, which had four members in the Attal government. « It seems obvious to me. »he insisted, rejecting in passing any desire to become a minister himself.
“New faces”
“A new configuration must appear, we must feel a new way of being for the government »the centrist argued again. Some resigning ministers, including Nicole Belloubet in National Education or Rachida Dati in Culture, would nevertheless like to be re-enlisted, while others dream of landing a new portfolio. In his dream cast, François Bayrou prefers « new faces who were not previously in government ».
A new page that should not, however, be written with the National Rally (RN), he estimated. The president of the centrists thus judged « neither possible nor desirable today » to appoint ministers from the nationalist party. At the same time, on the BFM set, RN MP Jean-Philippe Tanguy ruled out the presence of Marine Le Pen’s troops in the next government this Sunday.
