The French President, Emmanuel Macronremodeled his Government this Monday after having lost the absolute majority in the June legislative elections, in a cabinet in which the main figures who were since May in the Economy, Interior, Defense, Justice or Foreign portfolios remain.
The renovation includes the departure of the Minister of Solidarity and Persons with Disabilities, the conservative Damien Abad, that he was questioned by the accusations of several women of sexual violence, which led last week to the opening of a judicial investigation for attempted rape, and that he has been replaced by Jean-Christophe Combe.
The three Ministers of Health leave the Executive, Brigitte Bourgignon, from the Energy Transition, Amélie de Montchalin, and from the Sea, Justine Benin, who were not elected in the legislative elections in June, in application of an unwritten rule for many years that establishes that the losers in an election They cannot be part of the government.
Bourguignon has been replaced by Francois Braun, a doctor of recognized prestige who presided over the national body for the coordination of hospital emergencies and who worked on the preparation of health proposals for Macron’s presidential campaign. Montchalin’s position takes it back Christophe Bechu, who has been Secretary of State for Territorial Administrations for the last month; Benin’s, Hervé Berville.
An outstanding entry is that of the until now chief economist of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Laurence Boonewho will work under the orders of the head of French diplomacy, Catherine Colonna, as Delegate Minister for European Affairs.
Remarkable changes
Macron has made several changes with clear political significance, such as the appointment to a position as exposed and visible as that of spokesperson, as well as head of the Democratic Renovationof Olivier Veranwho was Minister of Health during most of the covid crisis and who for five weeks had the portfolio of Relations with Parliament.
The Department of Relations with Parliament now falls to Franck Riester, who has been part of all the Macron governments, lately at the head of Foreign Trade. The former spokesperson Olivia Gregoire, rises in grade by becoming the delegate minister for SMEs, Commerce and Tourism. Something similar is happening to Clément Beaune, who is moving from the European Affairs portfolio to the Transport portfolio.
A certain surprise represents the continuity of the Secretary of State for Development, Francophonie and International Alliances, Chrysoula Zacharpoulou, about whom it was speculated that she could suffer the same fate as Abada, given the risk of legal proceedings. Because Zacharpoulou has been the object in recent weeks of accusations of three women who consider having been raped or victims of medical violence during her professional practice as a gynecologist.
The new Executive celebrates its first Council of Ministers at 4:00 p.m. with a first urgency placed on purchasing power, which will be the subject of a bill that is to be processed in Parliament in July.
In addition, on Wednesday the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, will successively deliver a general policy speech before the two chambers. The question that she has not cleared up yet is whether she will submit to a vote of confidence, which would serve to assess the disposition of the opposition groups.
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