Two days after the appointment of Gabriel Attal to Matignon, the casting of the government team was finally announced by the secretary general of the presidency, Alexis Kohler from the Élysée.
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Appointment or reappointment? The appearance of the new Prime Minister and Gérald Darmanin together on Wednesday January 10, during a visit to a police station in Val-d’Oise had already given some indications. Bruno Le Maire, keeps his portfolio in Bercy and will always be in charge of the Economy, Finance, Industrial Sovereignty and Digital Affairs.
Eric Dupont-Moretti was able to impose his style in the previous government and retains his role as Minister of Justice. Sébastien Lecornu also remains in the Armed Forces, the MoDem Marc Fesneau in Agriculture and Christophe Béchu, from the party of Edouard Philippe Horizons, in Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion.
Stéphane Séjourné, close to Emmanuel Macron at the Quai d’Orsay
He was considered a possible head of the list in the next European elections. Stéphane Séjourné will ultimately lead French diplomacy. He is a Macronist from the start. He joins Emmanuel Macron in 2014, while the future head of state was still Minister of the Economy.
A man in the shadows, he will be one of the closest advisors at the Élysée before his launch in the 2019 European elections. Despite a lack of charisma during the campaign, it is he who has since chaired the Renew Europe group in Parliament European. In addition to his role as head of the presidential party, he remains one of Emmanuel Macron’s evening visitors. On a personal level, Stéphane Séjourné was in a relationship with the new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
At 38, Stéphane Séjourné becomes the youngest Minister of Foreign Affairs. His 10-year proximity to the Head of State should help him find his place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Europe, alongside the ambitious Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu.
By choosing to appoint his trusted man to the European Parliament at the Quai d’Orsay, Emmanuel Macron is also making him an asset up his sleeve for the European elections.
Arrival of Rachida Dati to the government, a surprise
This is a surprise appointment in the government of Gabriel Attal. Rachida Dati, mayor of the Republicans of the 8th arrondissement of Paris, arrives at the Ministry of Culture.
Former Minister of Justice under Nicolas Sarkozy, Rachida Dati, announced Thursday her appointment as Minister of Culture to Parisian elected officials from her Les Républicains party, AFP learned from several district mayors of the capital. After his appointment, Eric Ciotti, the boss of the Republicans, announced that he was excluding Rachida Dati from the party.
Another take on the right for the presidential camp, that of Catherine Vautrin. Holder of several portfolios under Jacques Chirac and already tipped for Matignon in 2022, she inherits an expanded ministry of Labor, Health and Solidarity.
Prisca Thevenot, new government spokesperson
After a few months as Secretary of State, Prisca Thevenot regains the very exposed position of government spokesperson.
She had never been in politics before getting involved in the En Marche movement in 2020. Consultant, having grown up in Seine-Saint-Denis, Prisca Thevenot became spokesperson for the presidential party at the end of 2020. In 2021, she was elected regional councilor for Île-de-France then ran for the legislative elections in June 2022. Under the Renaissance label, she was elected deputy for Hauts-de-Seine.
During the July 2023 reshuffle, she was appointed Secretary of State to the Minister of National Education, Gabriel Attal, in charge of Youth and Universal National Service in the Élisabeth Borne government. Prisca Thévenot succeeds Olivier Véran who is leaving the government and probably returning to his mandate as deputy for Isère.
The new spokesperson will be in front of journalists tomorrow for the traditional report of the Council of Ministers to the press.
Expanded portfolio for Amélie Oudéa-Castéra
Amélie Oudéa-Castéra takes the head of an expanded ministry which brings together National Education and Sports. She is said to be “very close” to the President of the Republic whom she met on the benches of the ENA. Amélie Oudéa Catsera, nicknamed “AOC” by her colleagues, becomes the third Minister of National Education in less than two years. But the one who was until then Minister of Sports therefore takes the head of a “super-ministry”.
This former tennis champion knows the sporting mysteries well. She has also been at the heart of the preparation for the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris since her appointment in May 2022. But when it comes to education, Amélie Oudéa-Castera is a novice. Its promotion worries education unions who feel abandoned by the government.
Especially since this new Ministry of Education and Sports raises a question: will the new minister be able to devote herself fully to national education, Emmanuel Macron’s “great cause of the five-year term”? In the middle of an Olympic year, it is difficult to imagine such a combination of positions.
The list of ministers announced by Alexis Kholer
While some keep their portfolios, others join this new government team.
Among the delegated ministers are named:
- Prisca Thevenotresponsible for Democratic Renewal, government spokesperson
- Marie Lebecresponsible for Relations with Parliament
- Aurore Bergéresponsible for Equality between women and men and the Fight against discrimination.
The appointment of state secretaries should take place later. And the first council of ministers will take place on Friday January 12, 2024.