The Prime Minister underwent surgery on the weekend of October 26. “Everything went very well,” said a press release signed by his doctor.
A very rare communication for a Prime Minister. Michel Barnier was operated on last weekend for a “cervical injury”, we learned in a press release distributed by Matignon.
The head of government's doctor specifies that the operation “went very well”. “Analysis results will be known within a few weeks,” the practitioner further specifies.
“He has resumed his activity normally”
Barely 36 hours after the end of the debates on the state budget and while the examination of the social security finance bill is just beginning, the news comes at a very bad time for the executive.
“He resumed his work normally today,” specifies the press release, which adds that the Prime Minister “will resume his public activities with the Council of Ministers” this Thursday.
Michel Barnier will therefore not be present for current questions to the government in the National Assembly and the Senate on Tuesday and Wednesday to respond to parliamentarians.
Historically, state figures are very discreet about their state of health. Suffering from mild autoimmune diseases, Édouard Philippe waited until his departure from Matignon to publicly discuss his alopecia. However, he had dealt with his vitiligo when he held his position as head of government.
Precedents
In 2009, Nicolas Sarkozy, then President of the Republic, suffered vagal discomfort after jogging. The Élysée announced the news a few hours later in a press release. Jacques Chirac had suffered a stroke and was hospitalized at Val-de-Grâce in Paris, without the Élysée formally communicating on the matter before the news was revealed in the press.
As for François Mitterrand, his prostate cancer, detected just a few months after his election to the presidency of the Republic, was only revealed 11 years later during hospitalization.
