As party and parliamentary group leaders are summoned this Friday, La France Insoumise has called for Emmanuel Macron’s dismissal if he refuses to appoint Lucie Castets to Matignon. An initiative decried by his left-wing allies.
The essentials
- La France Insoumise has filed a request for the dismissal of Emmanuel Macron if he does not appoint Lucie Castets to Matignon, a candidate proposed by the New Popular Front but whose candidacy had been rejected by the president several weeks ago. This announcement by LFI is not supported by its allies who have disassociated themselves from it.
- The Élysée summoned the heads of parliamentary groups (Senate and Assembly) on August 23 for a series of discussions aimed at “continuing to move towards the constitution of the broadest and most stable majority possible”. The New Popular Front, which came out on top in the legislative elections, assured that it would attend this meeting “together”.
- Other names circulating for the post of Prime Minister include Bernard Cazeneuve and Xavier Bertrand. Those of Jean-Louis Borloo and Michel Barnier have also been mentioned.
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10:30 – A new breach in the NFP that could serve the presidential camp?
If the call for impeachment divides the left, the presidential camp seems to want to take advantage of it. Gérald Darmanin, the resigning Minister of the Interior, has, in fact, called on the left on X to distance itself from LFI: “Wanting the impeachment of the President of the Republic, in total ignorance of our Institutions, reveals the anarchy LFI wants to plunge France into. The New Popular Front shows, once again, its inability to govern our country. It is now urgent for the French left to separate itself from the Insoumis who only want chaos”. Same story from Eric Dupont-Moretti, the resigning Minister of Justice, on X: “Impeach the President for not respecting Mélenchon’s will? Lunar! LFI is once again pulling the left towards extremism and leaving the republican field”.
10:15 – LFI’s left-wing allies dissociate themselves from the call for the dismissal of Emmanuel Macron
In a text published this Sunday, La France Insoumise called for the dismissal of Emmanuel Macron, if he does not appoint Lucie Castets, candidate of the New Popular Front, to Matignon. However, the Socialist Party, the Communist Party and the environmentalists do not support this approach and have dissociated themselves from it, provoking a new episode of discord on the left. “The proposal to initiate the dismissal of Emmanuel Macron only commits their movement and not the whole of the left united within the New Popular Front”, wrote Olivier Faure on X. The same distancing for Marine Tondelier, environmentalist leader: “The stubbornness of Emmanuel Macron who continues to claim that he will not change course is worrying. Everyone reacts to it in their own way” and for Fabien Roussel at the head of the PCF “LFI chooses to launch into the presidential election now. It is their choice”.
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How soon will the new government be appointed?
Emmanuel Macron held a “political truce” for the duration of the Olympic Games, while Gabriel Attal’s government resigned on July 16. The President of the Republic had estimated that no new government would be appointed before “mid-August”, preferring “stability” for the duration of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
Given the composition of the National Assembly, the President of the Republic has set himself the task of finding a Prime Minister capable of gathering the support of at least 289 deputies, in order to ensure stability. The same applies to the ministers that the latter will then have to propose. Otherwise, the new government as a whole would be exposed to a motion of censure which, if voted for by more than half of the elected representatives, would lead to the overthrow of the ministerial team. It would therefore be necessary to start all over again.
The problem is that Emmanuel Macron will have to accommodate all sensitivities, from the left of course, from the center naturally, but also from the right. If the NFP came out on top, the head of state has already ruled out governing with the LFI deputies. So out goes these sixty elected officials, who could be compensated by the sixty LR who should once again join the Palais Bourbon. Finding personalities who suit the ecologists, socialists, communists, macronists and republicans will not be easy. Not to mention the programmatic points on which everyone will have to agree. The negotiations are still expected to be long and complex. Suffice to say that Gabriel Attal should make extra…
What could be the profile of the future Prime Minister?
Emmanuel Macron took advantage of a summer break from Fort Brégançon to give new clues about the profile of the new Prime Minister. Clear elements are now emerging for the person who will take over from Gabriel Attal. The head of government will have to be “a man or woman, consensual, who pleases both the left and the right”, we can read in the columns of Le Monde. According to the Elysée, this personality will also have to give off “a scent of cohabitation”. This is an important clue about the composition of the new government and its political color. Especially after Emmanuel Macron’s refusal to see the NFP candidate, Lucie Castets, at Matignon.
Xavier Bertrand is one of the main names circulating for Matignon. The LR president of the Hauts-de-France region Xavier Bertrand, himself, is even supported by several figures from the center and the right. “He is a great republican among the Republicans and a great regional president” declared on this subject Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, resigning Secretary of State for the City, on July 30th. The resigning Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin spoke of him “a politician with very great competence”, he could “greatly serve France”, a day earlier. Concerning the main person concerned, there is no direct contact with the President of the Republic. Bertrand and Macron exchange, certainly, but through “emissaries” according to information from Le Parisien.
The President of the Republic is consulting at least on a second name for the post of Prime Minister, it is Bernard Cazeneuve. The former tenant of Matignon under François Hollande remains however much less publicized than Xavier Bertrand, and much more discreet about his new political aspirations. However, according to information from Le Parisien, the latter recently spoke with the head of state “whom he had already seen discreetly at the Elysée in the spring (well before the dissolution). A profile that could quite satisfy the consensual dimension sought by Emmanuel Macron to replace Gabriel Attal.
On Sunday, August 4, the resigning Minister for Gender Equality, Aurore Bergé, also mentioned three names from the Republicans to fill the post of Prime Minister in place of Gabriel Attal. Unsurprisingly, Xavier Bertrand, the President of the Hauts-de-France region. Then Michel Barnier, former minister we told you about in this article on July 31st in the context of a possible technical Prime Minister. Finally, the name of Gérard Larcher, current President of the Senate was also mentioned by Aurore Bergé to join Matignon. The three “have solid experience of government, Parliament, and compromise”, believes the Macronist minister, from the right. Jean-Louis Borloo is also mentioned.