The entourage of the Prime Minister, who wanted to present his government before Christmas, announced on Sunday that he was “making the final adjustments” and that he had gone to the Élysée in the evening to speak with Emmanuel Macron.
Given as probable on Sunday evening, the presentation of François Bayrou's government was finally postponed, which leaves very little possibility for an announcement before Christmas, the objective stated by the Prime Minister.
An announcement is therefore now planned for Monday, a date that the Élysée and Matignon wanted to avoid because it corresponds to the day of national mourning for Mayotte decreed by Emmanuel Macron after the passage of Cyclone Chido. If the announcement were to be further delayed, the government would not be known until Tuesday December 24, Christmas Eve and the start of the end-of-year holiday break.
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.
The “final settings”
His entourage announced on Sunday that the Prime Minister was “to the latest adjustments of his government“. Several telephone exchanges with Emmanuel Macron took place on Sunday, as well as an interview in the evening at the Élysée.
«This is progressing. (…) The structure of the major ministerial centers is fixed», assured during the weekend the president of the MoDem deputies, Marc Fesneau, close to François Bayrou, confirming that the complete list of the government should be presented “in one go» et «before Christmas».
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But the composition of a government responds to a subtle dosage which must in particular respect political balances, parity between men and women, and the susceptibilities of people. Above all, ministers will have to urgently prepare a budget for 2025, under pressure from oppositions and the financial markets.
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 refusal of the PS
As for Gerald 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. On the left, the former socialist minister François Rebsamen, 73, announced in La Tribune on Sunday that he was “ready» to join the government, touting his “relationship of trust» for a long time with François Bayrou.
The Socialist Party formally refused to participate in the government and its leader Olivier Faure left Matignon disappointed last Thursday, saying “dismayed at the poverty of what (was) proposed» and not excluding censoring the brand new Prime Minister, an early ally of Emmanuel Macron.
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Among those leaving, Catherine Vautrin (Territories), Rachida Dati (Culture) and Sébastien Lecornu (Armies) should remain, probably in the same portfolios.
Saturday evening, the leader of the Les Républicains deputies Laurent Wauquiez indicated that he himself would not join the Bayrou team after having aspired to take 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 thus 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.
