Sacha Houlié, elected from the left wing of the majority, will be crowned deputy of the year this Thursday, February 15, 2024. A reward which arrives after the false hopes entertained by the Prime Minister of his appointment to the government.
A prestigious award that feels like a consolation prize. Sacha Houlié will receive the MP of the Year prize from Trombinoscope, an annual ceremony which crowns political figures, this Thursday, February 15. The majority deputy is undoubtedly praised for his parliamentary work, in particular that carried out as chairman of the law committee for the examination of the immigration bill.
The reward is great, especially for one of the rare elected representatives of meritocracy who rose from the middle class to the National Assembly. Winner of a Trombinoscope Prize, Sacha Houlié rubs shoulders with other award-winning personalities including Gabriel Attal crowned Minister of the Year and the presidents of the Senate and the National Assembly. But less than a week from his disappointment at not joining the government, the reward could revive the MP’s bitterness.
Sacha Houlié experienced the emotional elevator several times during the weeks preceding the reshuffle. The deputy from the left wing of Macronie did not hesitate to express his opposition to the immigration bill and had even decided, against presidential instructions, to vote against the adoption of the text. This affront to the authority of the majority leader had, according to him, condemned him not to be appointed minister during the reshuffle. But Gabriel Attal, just installed in Matignon, had revived his hopes by asking the deputy in an SMS and reported by The echoes : “What would interest you?” Sacha Houlié, ambitious, aimed at Education and Sports.
“The feeling of having been taken for an imbecile”
The first wave of the reshuffle did not sign the appointment of the deputy to the super-ministry, but he still believed in his promotion even as delegated ministry in charge of Sports during the last announcements. As the end of the reshuffle approached, hope was still there for Sports, even if the profiles of François Bayrou and Nicole Belloubet were preferred to replace Amélie Oudéa-Castéré who was leaving. He was not the only one to judge his appointment credible as evidenced by a message from Nicole Belloubet the day before the reshuffle also relayed by The echoes : “Will we have the pleasure of hearing your name tomorrow?” A quarter of an hour later the ax fell and dashed the deputy’s hopes.
“I had the impression of having been taken for an imbecile” the MP reacted to the newspaper after receiving a message from Gabriel Attal – who himself had placed the seed of hope in Sacha’s head Houlié – to warn him: “On Sports, it would have really made sense, but we left to keep Amélie Oudéa-Castéra until the Olympics so that she delivers”. The Prime Minister had justified the decision by a “big, hyper-complicated women’s issue” and had given the MP to look further ahead for a possible appointment after the Olympic Games.
Sacha Houlié has since not speculated on his possible entry into government one day. He had explained to Echoes before the announcement of the reshuffle, that he had already refused a government position in July 2023 to avoid being under the tutelage of the right-wing Gérald Darmani. He also believed that “it is Parliament which [lui] corresponds best”: “I am free; I don’t like being told what to do or having my agenda set; I like to make a rant when I feel like doing it.” Without drawing a line under his ambitions, the MP will therefore continue to work in Parliament, where his work is rewarded, while waiting to perhaps one day be crowned minister of the year.