► The socialists on their “hunger” after their interview
The socialist leaders remained on their ” hunger “ during their meeting Monday noon with the new Prime Minister, François Bayrou, with whom they “talked a lot about the non-censorship pact” without this exchange having been « conclusion ».
“We are in an opposition which is itself open to compromise. A path still needs to be opened. And from this point of view, for the moment, we have been left wanting more. We do not yet have precise indications on how the Prime Minister intends to govern”said the first secretary of the PS, Olivier Faure, at the end of the meeting.
“It was not conclusive”he added, “As we speak, we haven't signed anything. There is no non-censorship agreement. There are currently people who are in discussion. »
► Bayrou intends to remain mayor of Pau
François Bayrou will go Monday evening to Pau, the town in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques of which he has been mayor for ten years, to chair the municipal council, with the idea of retaining his mandate at the same time as being prime minister.
His intention is to keep the town hall, according to a government source. He will explain the purpose of his coming at the start of the meeting.
His first assistant in Pau Jean-Louis Peres judged on France Bleu “desirable” that François Bayrou retains this local mandate which allows “resolve the questions asked by the French” with “very concrete”.
Before the municipal council scheduled for 7 p.m., François Bayrou will participate remotely at 6:00 p.m. in the interministerial crisis council (CIC) on Mayotte which will be chaired by Emmanuel Macron.
► François Bayrou received Gabriel Attal
François Bayrou spoke with Gabriel Attal, both the leader of the Macronist deputies Ensemble pour la République (EPR), and president of the Renaissance party.
The former prime minister left without a word, his face closed.
► Marine Le Pen welcomes a “more positive method”
Marine Le Pen welcomed, after an interview with the new Prime Minister, François Bayrou, a “more positive method” than her predecessor, Michel Barnier, whom she had accused of having received it too late.
“The method is more positive than what I have seen so far,” estimated the boss of the National Rally (RN) deputies, the first group leader received at Matignon since the appointment of François Bayrou. She was accompanied by the party's number one, Jordan Bardella.
Marine Le Pen also indicated that she “expressed reservations to the Prime Minister” that the RN had “on a certain number of personalities” likely to enter government.
► Jospin urges the PS to “stay in opposition”
Former socialist prime minister Lionel Jospin recommended to the Socialist Party (PS) as well as ecologists and communists to “stay in opposition”, but not to “put oneself in a situation of mechanical use of censorship” so that the Bayrou government « dure ».
“The socialists, communists and ecologists, considering that they had not been called by the president to form the government, entered the opposition, they are in the opposition, they must stay there” , explained Lionel Jospin, whose speech is rare, on France Inter. But “at the same time, they must contribute to ensuring that this government, whose options they do not share, lasts”he added.
► Breton and Moscovici warn of “a France at a standstill”
Former European Commissioner Thierry Breton and the first president of the Court of Auditors, Pierre Moscovici, whose names are circulating to join the executive, were both concerned “of a France at a standstill” and called for a government to tackle debt reduction, without which “there is no future”.
“France has been at a standstill for almost a year now. We have had four successive prime ministers, we have economic agents who are at a standstill, waiting to know if they are going to invest. There is likely a risk of significant restructuring for a number of companies (…) We need a government,” alerted Thierry Breton on BFMTV/RMC.
“There is not a second to lose, you have to give yourself a trajectory and above all, stick to it,” he insisted, rejoicing that François Bayrou had placed “the fight against debt as the first point”.
For his part, Pierre Moscovici warned “that there is no future for this country if it does not get out of debt”. “There is nothing we can do with a debt of this magnitude. It's 25 billion reimbursements in 2021, 53 billion this year, 70 billion in the coming year (…) How do you want to finance public policies for the future? “, he worried on franceinfo.
► Lescure calls on the PS to enter the government
The former Minister of Industry Roland Lescure, whose name had been circulated for Matignon, pleaded Monday on RTL for “expand” to socialist ministers, but the latter threaten to exclude the contenders.
“I saw with interest the enormous moves made by the Socialist Party and part of the left,” he explained, believing that the promise not to censor if the government does not present 49.3“can only work if they decide to enter government.”
La France insoumise, which immediately threatens to censor the future government, weighs up the union of the left: “anyone who joins this government will irremediably distance themselves from the New Popular Front”, warned his coordinator Manuel Bompard on TF1.
► François Bayrou consults the parliamentary groups
François Bayrou receives parliamentary groups on Monday, December 16 “by their order of importance” digital at the National Assembly. This is the start of a cycle of consultation that the Prime Minister intends to carry out on Monday and Tuesday with the political forces at the same time as he tries to compose his government.
François Bayrou is looking for a narrow path that would allow him to pass, without a majority, a budget, while the previous one was frozen by censorship.
► The RN received first
The new prime minister begins by receiving at 9 a.m. the president of the National Rally group of deputies, Marine Le Pen, who on Sunday castigated a “contemptible coalition of opposites”, mais ne censor pas “a priori”. She comes accompanied by the president of the party, Jordan Bardella. The latter had deplored not having been received soon enough by former Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
François Bayrou, who made a point of personally calling each group leader, will then speak with Gabriel Attal, both the leader of the Macronist deputies Ensemble pour la République and president of the Renaissance party, who has expressed his support.
The socialist group leaders will follow, Boris Vallaud for the Assembly and Patrick Kanner for the Senate and the first secretary of the PS, Olivier Faure. The leader of the Republican Right deputies Laurent Wauquiez will come alone. His party Les Républicains (LR) conditions the participation of the right in government on ” project “ that François Bayrou will present to them.
La France insoumise, which has already promised censorship, refused to meet François Bayrou in this context, for “fear” according to Jean-Luc Mélenchon “let this all be a comedy again”.
► The PS excludes any participation in government
If the Socialists have accepted the meeting at Matignon, the PS repeats that it does not intend to enter the government. On the other hand, he shows himself ready to discuss different subjects, such as a “social conference” on pensions or the taxation of high incomes. So many proposals which had received the support of MoDem, the party of François Bayrou, in the Assembly.
François Bayrou would still have the ambition to bring socialists into his team. But the PS promises to exclude those among its members who would accept a portfolio.
► A government tightened around “personalities”
Alongside these consultations intended to measure the support available to him, the new prime minister is refining his team, which he wants to be tighter and dominated by “personalities” of experience.
François Bayrou does not intend to fight over sovereign positions, which fall under the so-called domain ” reserve ” of the head of state, according to a government source.
The MoDem currently holds the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, with Jean-Noël Barrot. It remains to be seen whether Sébastien Lecornu, a supporter of Emmanuel Macron whom the head of state hesitated to appoint to Matignon, wishes to return to his post.
► Will Bruno Retailleau stay in office?
François Bayrou received on Friday the outgoing Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau (LR), to whom he left the management of the crisis in Mayotte, affected by a deadly cyclone, as a guarantee of the continuation of his mission in government.
But the maintenance of this divisive minister is divisive, even if the socialists initially contest his plan for a new immigration law. The President of the Senate, Gérard Larcher (LR), pleaded for the reappointment of his party colleague.
► What profile for Bercy?
Time is running out for the formation of the government because it will be the one that will carry the new finance bill for 2025, interrupted by censorship, while the deficit is worsening and the rating agencies are frowning.
In this regard, the new Prime Minister received on Sunday the outgoing Minister of the Budget, Laurent Saint-Martin, before the examination by the deputies on Monday of the draft special law which will allow the continuity of the State, in the absence of a budget adopted on time.
He also met on Saturday with the governor of the Bank of France, François Villeroy de Galhau, and the president of the Court of Auditors, Pierre Moscovici. So many possible profiles for Bercy, like that of Roland Lescure, former minister of industry, whose name had circulated for Matignon.
