Emmanuel Macron wants to appoint a new Prime Minister this Thursday evening. While traveling in Poland, the Head of State could appoint Michel Barnier's successor upon his return to Paris in the afternoon. Tuesday, on the sidelines of a meeting at the Élysée with party leaders, the president committed to appointing a new head of government “within 48 hours”.
Michel Barnier participated in his last Council of Ministers. The Prime Minister and his team were invited one last time to the Élysée. On the menu for this Council of Ministers: a draft “special law” to ensure the continuity of the State from January while waiting for a budget to be adopted for 2025. According to comments reported by Matignon, Michel Barnier took advantage of the Council of Ministers to alert the President of the Republic to the “social, territorial and rural divides” in the country and “the feeling of abandonment which affects many French people”.
Emmanuel Macron warned of possible new government censorship. In the report of the Council of Ministers, the resigning government spokesperson Maud Bregeon affirmed that Emmanuel Macron had insisted on the fact that “the choice of censorship was a serious choice which would have consequences”. The president also noted that there was “no broader base than that which is in place today”.
Budget: two ministers interviewed in the Assembly. Antoine Armand, resigning Minister of the Economy and Laurent Saint-Martin, his counterpart for Budget and Public Accounts, were heard this Wednesday by the Finance Committee of the National Assembly. The two are responsible for presenting the “special law” which should allow the State to continue functioning after January 1, while awaiting a budget for 2025. This will be examined on December 16 in the Assembly, then on the 18 December in the Senate.
