• Direct Contacted by the Ministry of Justice, Xavier Bertrand announces that he “refuses to participate in a government formed with the approval of Marine Le Pen”

He says no. Ten days after the appointment of François Bayrou to Matignon, Xavier Bertrand, a right-wing figure expected to become Minister of Justice, announced in a press release on Monday December 23 that he had refused “to participate in a government (…) formed with the approval of Marine Le Pen”. “The Prime Minister informed me this morning, contrary to what he had proposed to me yesterday, that he was no longer able to entrust me with responsibility for the Ministry of Justice due to the opposition of the Rally national”he developed. The government's announcement is scheduled for 6:30 p.m., the Elysée announced. Follow our live stream.

François Bayrou tries to attract important personalities. While awaiting the final list, several names have been mentioned by actors, commentators and observers of political life. For example, that of former Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne or former Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin. Laurent Wauquiez, for his part, declared on Saturday evening that he refused to join the government, awaiting guarantees from the Prime Minister. Former socialist minister François Rebsamen said “ready” has “engage”.

LR deputies meet after the government's announcement. The group of LR deputies will meet Monday evening at 8 p.m., after the announcement of François Bayrou's government, the franceinfo political service learned from Laurent Wauquiez's entourage.

Written commitments on program elements. In a letter consulted by franceinfo, François Bayrou makes written commitments on program elements. It was addressed Monday to Laurent Wauquiez, president of the Republican Right group in the National Assembly, and to Mathieu Darnaud, president of the Les Républicains group in the Senate. They asked the head of government on Saturday for final guarantees and that these be sent to them in writing. LR deputies will exchange to officially validate their participation in the government.

Several exchanges on Sunday. The negotiations gave rise to several telephone conversations on Sunday between the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, who met at the Elysée at the end of the day. In the middle of the afternoon, the Prime Minister's entourage affirmed that the time had come to “final adjustments following small comments and adjustments requested”. Franceinfo learned from Matignon, early Sunday evening, that the list of ministers had been made up, but that it was being examined by the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life.