The hypothesis of Bayrou’s return to the Ministry of Education is making its way through the corridors of the Élysée. The president of MoDem will be appointed during the day.
The second part of the redesign must finally be revealed this Tuesday, February 6. Is it a coincidence that Emmanuel Macron and Gabriel Attal waited for the verdict of François Bayrou’s trial to finalize the government appointments? Monday, the mayor of Pau was acquitted in the affair of the MoDem parliamentary assistants. He who left the government in 2017 at the time of his indictment therefore has a golden opportunity to make his comeback. On the condition that the Prime Minister does not block his path.
“A practical way to get out of Oudéa”
One position in particular could suit him: that of Minister of Education. The portfolio, grouped with that of Sports in the bosom of Amélie Oudéa-Castéra since January, is going through turbulence with the series of controversies which are shaking her minister. To the point that Emmanuel Macron and Gabriel Attal would seriously consider replacing her, according to Politico. In reality, Matignon would push for the current minister to leave the government, but the President of the Republic would be inclined to support her. But the discussions are moving forward and the arguments are being shared. “There are planets that are potentially aligning,” a close friend of the MoDem president confided yesterday to the media. Hypothesis confirmed by a regular at the Elysée.
“It would look good, and it would be a practical way to get out of Oudéa,” comments a MoDem deputy. A return of François Bayrou to the government would also be a serious guarantee granted by Emmanuel Macron and Gabriel Attal to his allied party, which is now only represented by Marc Fesneau at the top of the State. Especially since the mayor of Pau did not hold back his criticism when appointing the first part of the team, deploring a government that was too right-wing. He even opposed Attal’s appointment to Matignon, without succeeding in changing the president’s mind.
This Tuesday, several political figures welcomed the hypothesis of a political return of François Bayrou to the forefront. “He is a man of experience, with great competence. It is up to the President of the Republic to know where he can be useful,” Rachida Dati told Cnews. “It is obvious that, while the house is burning, if we need someone to pacify relations between the world of national education and political power, François Bayrou has the credentials to assert,” he said. Jean-Louis Bourlanges, Modem deputy, told him on Radio-J.
However, for the moment, the government’s instructions are to support Amélie Oudéa Castéra. “She had an exemplary career as Minister of Sports and we looked at her and judged her based on what she did on the merits, particularly on the issue of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. We must not relieve her part of her portfolio, she is perfectly and fully up to the task”, insisted government spokesperson, Prisca Thévenot, on TF1 this Tuesday.
“I never shied away”
Bayrou knows the Ministry of Education well, having led it between 1993 and 1997, under François Mitterrand then under Jacques Chirac. His appointment almost 30 years later would therefore be a beautiful symbol of his return to the forefront of the political scene. “I never rule out anything,” he confided Monday on France 2, “vou know how much I believe in it, how much I would give” toEeducation.
“I have never shied away from a request for service,” he added this Tuesday on BFMTV, while putting his fate in the hands of Macron and Attal. The latter could well put obstacles in his way, according to one of his close friends, who told Politico that Bayrou would not be appointed “in any world”. Unless Emmanuel Macron takes the opportunity to remind his Prime Minister who decides, by imposing Bayrou on Education at all costs.