Since yesterday evening, the names that will make up the next government have started to circulate. While we know the major political balances, things are not yet certain. However, the rumors that are circulating are causing a stir, particularly within Emmanuel Macron’s troops.
The government’s major balances have been made public
Last night, we learned about the major political balances of the Barnier government. Thirty-eight ministers, sixteen of whom are full-time ministers. Among them, seven Renaissance, three LR, two Modem, one Horizons, one UDI, one miscellaneous right and one miscellaneous left.
For the latter, the name circulating is that of Didier Migaud, current president of the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (which is currently responsible for verifying the compatibility of the people proposed with the position of minister). For the LR, the name of Bruno Retailleau, the current president of the group in the Senate, is circulating for the Interior, as is that of the president of the Law Commission of the Palais du Luxembourg François-Noël Buffet for the Overseas Territories, or that of the Secretary General of the LR Annie Genevard for Agriculture. Laurence Garnier, LR senator for Loire Atlantique was also considered for a time to become Minister of the Family. The name of the former minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher is circulating for Ecology.
Garnier, Retailleau: names that make you tense
These lists of names do not completely satisfy the presidential party. A major elected official in Parliament who is rather close to the left wing underlines the lack of enthusiasm of his troops concerning the hypotheses that are circulating. “We are rather disillusioned with two or three names,” he confides. The first one he tells us about is that of Laurence Garnier, who was active in the movement opposing marriage for all, voted against the ban on conversion therapy and the inclusion of abortion in the Constitution. “Garnier’s name did not please, it even shocked,” he admits. “She has retrograde plans,” tackles Patricia Schillinger, RDPI (Renaissance) senator. In the morning, we learned that the senator should ultimately be removed from the government. If the left wing of the former presidential majority does not welcome the potential nomination of Bruno Retailleau to Beauvau with open arms, “it was to be expected”, the elected official mentioned above tells us. “It does not shock me that leading LR members are entering the government, but the one that is causing tension is the name of François-Noël Buffet in the Overseas Territories, because he has no added value on this subject”, he explains. Especially since in the Senate, the LR members have registered in frontal opposition to Emmanuel Macron, something that Patricia Schillinger remembers: “Bruno Retailleau was not in the same majority as us, he was an opponent of Emmanuel Macron, despite the outstretched hands of the RDPI group, he remained in his hard opposition”. The senator acknowledges that this risks being “a little tough”.
The distrust is such that this morning, MP Sophie Errante, a supporter of Emmanuel Macron since 2017, announced that she was leaving the Ensemble pour la République group. “It is not impossible that other departures will take place from the EPR group in the coming days,” we are told.
“The left wing of the former majority feels aggrieved”
What upsets them, in addition to the LR with whom they do not share the substance, is the imbalance to the detriment of the left wing of Renaissance. “The left wing of the former majority feels wronged, even if Agnès Pannier-Runacher is appointed minister, that is not enough,” laments a Macronist parliamentarian of this persuasion.
The reluctance of some Renaissance does not mean an immediate censure of Michel Barnier and his government. They will wait for the Prime Minister’s general policy statement on October 1st to decide. “The general policy statement will be constructed with the group presidents, including Gabriel Attal,” wants to reassure a left-wing Macronist, “the very right-wing profiles like Bruno Retailleau will have to follow this roadmap.” “We will see what they will propose and how they will work,” judges Patricia Schillinger, “the RDPI group in the Senate will know how to oppose when necessary and vote for things when they are going in the right direction.”
They set red lines, as conditions for non-censorship or at least for not hindering the good work of the government: no tax increases on the middle and lower classes, no backtracking on societal issues. “We need appeasement, and we must stop thinking about the next elections,” the senator pleads.
