In the resigning government, some would like to remain at the helm under the leadership of the new Prime Minister Michel Barnier. Others do not. Roland Lescure, the resigning Minister for Industry, thus indicated in Libération that he “does not wish to be part of the government”.
The man who was elected vice-president of the National Assembly in July is not really enthusiastic about Michel Barnier’s appointment. “It’s not a question of a person,” he says, while deploring the fact that the latter led a “right-wing” campaign during the LR primary in 2021.
“But the main thing is elsewhere: it is the political equation that accompanies his nomination,” says the deputy representing the French in North America. And for good reason: Michel Barnier is “under surveillance” by the RN, to use Marine Le Pen’s words. In other words, his government cannot hold if the extreme right decides, like the left, to censor him.
Faced with the temptation to satisfy the RN on certain measures in order not to be overthrown, Roland Lescure warns: “the solutions of the National Rally cannot be part of the equation. If we have to pick from the RN’s program, it will be without me.”