Ten days after the appointment of François Bayrou as Prime Minister, the composition of the new government will be announced this Monday evening at 6:30 p.m.
White smoke on the horizon. The composition of François Bayrou's government will be announced this Monday, December 23 at 6:30 p.m. by the Secretary General of the Élysée, announced the Presidency of the Republic.
Alexis Kohler will announce the “composition of the government appointed by the President of the Republic on the proposal of the Prime Minister, this Monday, December 23, 2024 at 6:30 p.m., at the Élysée Palace,” said the presidency.
Earlier, the Prime Minister was expected at 4:30 p.m. at the interministerial crisis center in Mayotte, at the Ministry of the Interior, in the immediate vicinity of the presidential palace.
Declared a day of national mourning by President Emmanuel Macron for the archipelago devastated by Cyclone Chido, Monday appears to be a delicate day to announce a government.
A minute of silence was observed throughout the country at 11 a.m. in tribute to the victims of the disaster, whose provisional toll stands at 35 dead and 2,500 injured, so that “the Mahorais feel surrounded by an entire country”. declared François Bayrou in the Matignon courtyard.
“A very bad sign”
The centrist leader, 73, fourth Prime Minister in 2024, hopes to compose a government of heavyweights, able to avoid censorship, with personalities from the right, the center and the left.
His entourage announced on Sunday that he was “making the final adjustments to his government”. Several telephone exchanges with Emmanuel Macron took place on Sunday, as well as an interview in the evening at the Élysée.
But the composition of a government responds to a subtle dosage which must notably respect political balances, parity between men and women, and sensitivities. Above all, ministers will have to urgently prepare a budget for 2025, under pressure from oppositions and the financial markets.
François Bayrou appointed Prime Minister
The names of the former Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne or the former Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin are mentioned to join François Bayrou's team, as is that of Xavier Bertrand, president of Hauts-de-France and figure of the right-wing Les Républicains (LR) party.
The latter, cited for Justice, is an irritant for the RN, which he has fought for a long time. Especially since Marine Le Pen awaits her judgment, with possible ineligibility, in the trial of the assistants of the European Parliament.
“It’s a very bad sign,” said Jean-Philippe Tanguy (RN), nevertheless repeating that the entry of Xavier Bertrand into the government would not lead to immediate censorship of the far-right party.
As for Gérald Darmanin, ex-LR rallied to the macronie, he publicly applied for the Quai d'Orsay where the current Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot (MoDem) would like to stay.
A written commitment for LRs
On the left, former socialist minister François Rebsamen, 73, announced that he was “ready” to join the government, praising his long-standing “relationship of trust” with François Bayrou. But almost nothing filters through on other personalities from the left who could be tempted to join François Bayrou.
The Socialist Party formally refused to participate in the government and its leader Olivier Faure said he was “dismayed by the poverty of what (was) proposed”, not ruling out censoring the brand new Prime Minister, an ally of the first time of Emmanuel Macron. Among those leaving, Catherine Vautrin (Territories), Rachida Dati (Culture) and Sébastien Lecornu (Armies) should remain, probably in the same portfolios.
On the LR side, they obtained on Monday the written commitment of the Prime Minister in particular on budgetary “savings” and the encouragement of “work by all means”, to which they had conditioned their participation in the government.
Laurent Wauquiez, boss of LR deputies, gave up joining the team, failing to obtain the Finance portfolio. On the other hand, the outgoing Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau is on course to stay.
The centrist's government base would ultimately be quite close to that of LR Michel Barnier, overthrown on December 4 by a motion of censure from the National Assembly, after three months in office.
