A major reshuffle is anticipated in the coming weeks. Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne remains in an ejection seat and could be replaced by a member of the right wing of Macronie.
A major overhaul. Rumors have been rife since the announcement of the postponement of the Council of Ministers on Wednesday January 3, rescheduled for January 10. Élisabeth Borne’s trip to Guyana and the court decision concerning the accusations of favoritism targeting the Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt rendered on January 17 do not, for the moment, allow Emmanuel Macron to decide as quickly as desired.
However, everything could accelerate in the coming weeks, and the position of Prime Minister occupied by Élisabeth Borne is particularly threatened. So, who will be the choice of head of state? The possibility of a number 2 in the government labeled on the right is an option even if it does not delight all sections of the majority. “If we get a right-wing Prime Minister, I don’t see how to stay within the majority,” says a left-wing MP among our colleagues in France Info.
A right-wing Prime Minister? The majority divided
The end of 2023 was trying, fraught with challenges for the government and notably marked by the adoption of the immigration law, not without difficulty. So, could this new “year of determination” as the President of the Republic said during his New Year’s Eve speech lead to the emergence of a new strong man at the head of government? The name of Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu has come up repeatedly in recent days to replace Élisabeth Borne at Matignon. Close to Emmanuel Macron, the former Minister of Overseas in the Castex government could be the leader of the “big cleanup” in the ranks of the majority desired by a Renaissance deputy as indicated by France Info. The name of the Minister of Ecological Transition Christophe Béchu is also mentioned even if the hypothesis is not yet taken seriously in Macronie. This right-wing man, pillar of Edouard Philippe’s Horizons party, would be seduced by the idea. Another right-wing hypothesis: the appointment of Bruno Le Maire to Matignon. The most political profile, but which could divide the Macronists.
The majority appears fractured like never before, particularly after the episode of the immigration law. Some of them had voted against the text, notably the president of the Law Commission and figure of the left wing of Macronie, Sacha Houlié in the National Assembly. The Minister of Health Aurélien Rousseau, hostile to the toughening of the text adopted by Parliament, had simply resigned. Still, the window of opportunity to recompose a government risks shrinking for the head of state between the European elections next June and the imminent arrival of the Olympic Games a few weeks later. The rumor of a reshuffle is therefore gaining strength and so is the hypothesis of seeing a right-wing Prime Minister in 2024. A cocktail that promises to be explosive.