Bruno Le Maire, who was Minister of Economy for a record seven years, said his goodbyes at Bercy on Thursday in front of 1,200 people. He took the opportunity to announce his retirement from politics to return to teaching.
A page is turning for Bruno Le Maire. The man who was Minister of Economy for seven years under the presidency of Emmanuel Macron – a longevity record – said goodbye to Bercy on Thursday.
“I am leaving with the deep feeling that these seven years have been useful for France,” he said in his speech.
A farewell to the ministry therefore but also a farewell to politics, after 22 years, for the man who made his career at the UMP then at Les Républicains before joining Emmanuel Macron’s presidential majority. “It is time for me to breathe a different air from that of politics,” explained Bruno Le Maire.
A return to teaching… in Switzerland?
Although he resigned from the senior civil service to enter politics, the now former Minister of the Economy does not intend to return to it but rather to his “first love”: teaching.
“My first position was at the University of Lyon II, as a professor of literature, 30 years ago (…) I am happy to return to teaching, this time on economic and geopolitical subjects.”
“It is with great enthusiasm that I look forward to meeting students again to be able to exchange, transmit and understand the world to come,” added Bruno Le Maire in a video message published on his X account.
Although he did not specify where he would teach, it could be in Switzerland: in July, the University of Lausanne confirmed “discussions” with the still-resigned minister. But Bruno Le Maire ruled out the possibility of a permanent move: “I will naturally continue to live in France, which is my homeland, my life, my passion.”
