More than half of the new government came from the ranks of the UMP or the Republicans, including those close to Nicolas Sarkozy.
The new government of Gabriel Attal is now known. Reduced to 14 ministers, it does not fail to provoke a reaction, particularly after the appointments of Rachida Dati for Culture and Catherine Vautrin, new Minister of Labor, Health and Solidarity. Both labeled on the right and related to the former President of the Republic Nicolas Sarkozy. Of the 14 ministers, 8 were members of the UMP or the Republicans. The shadow of Nicolas Sarkozy is indeed present in this reshuffle.
Gérald Darmanin (Minister of the Interior) was spokesperson for the former head of state in 2014, Sébastien Lecornu (Minister of the Armed Forces) was a member of the UMP until 2015. Christophe Béchu (Transition ecological), Aurore Bergé (Equality between women and men) were also part of this political family. A composition which did not fail to provoke a reaction from the national secretary of the Ecologists Marine Tondelier in a very explicit tweet: “Vautrin, Dati, it’s the Sarkozy IV government in fact…”.
Dati and Vautrin: the Sarkozysts in government
Sarkozyste from the start, Rachida Dati is the biggest surprise of this reshuffle. Current mayor of the 7th arrondissement of Paris, she notably joined Nicolas Sarkozy’s cabinet in 2002 at the Ministry of the Interior, and served as Minister of Justice between 2007 and 2009 in the governments of François Fillon. Emmanuel Macron finally reached an agreement with the one who has widely decried the policy practiced by the majority since 2017. Since 2021, Rachida Dati has been indicted for “corruption” and “influence peddling”. She would have received 900,000 euros from Renault for lobbying in the European Parliament. The requisitions from the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office should be made in the coming weeks. With the appointment of Rachida Dati, Emmanuel Macron changes gear and asserts himself in a more right-wing dynamic.
Especially since Rachida Dati is not the only one to be linked to Nicolas Sarkozy in this new Attal government. Indeed, Catherine Vautrin, already tipped to occupy the position of Prime Minister after the re-election of Emmanuel Macron in 2022, is this time making her official entry into the government. At the time, Élisabeth Borne was preferred. First Secretary of State twice under Jacques Chirac, Catherine Vautrin became Minister Delegate for Social Cohesion and Parity from 2005 to 2007. She also held the position of Vice-President of the National Assembly from 2008 to 2017. A convinced Chiraquian, she also supported Nicolas Sarkozy for the primary presidential election of the Republicans in 2016. She also deplores a legal incident while treasurer of the Republicans at the time of the Bygmalion affair on the campaign accounts of Nicolas Sarkozy. Catherine Vautrin was cleared in 2015 with a dismissal of the case.