Karim Bouamrane, mayor of Saint-Ouen, is said to be among the names circulating for the post of Prime Minister. With his experience, he could please the president.
Emmanuel Macron has still not named his new Prime Minister, but the list of potential contenders is growing. Recently, the name of Karim Bouamrane, mayor of Saint-Ouen, has been circulating according to The Opinion. He made a name for himself during the Olympic Games since his city hosted athletes. He received numerous praises in the international press, the New York Times assuring that he had “already won everything”.
Karim Bouamrane could have his chances in the race for Matignon. First of all, because of his experience. Coming from a modest family of Moroccan origin, he got involved in politics at a very young age. A member of the Communist Party for twenty years, he joined the Socialist Party in 2014, where he was even the spokesperson. In 2020, he became mayor of Saint-Ouen, the town of his childhood.
A unique profile on the left
Karim Bouamrane is uncompromising on security issues. A former entrepreneur in cybersecurity, he deplores his camp’s “abandonment” of “security”, which he considers to be “a political mistake”. In Saint-Ouen, he reinforced the police force from the start of his term and adopted a firm position on crime and drug trafficking. He also implemented progressive measures, such as menstrual leave for female city workers. A mix that could please Emmanuel Macron. “He claims left-wing values without ever blushing to defend principles such as authority, security, patriotism,” he sums up in a portrait The Figaro
Karim Bouamrane is also seen as a fervent critic of LFI, another important point in his favor. He denounces in particular the “capacity of LFI to communitarize the country through the ethno-religious prism”. These different points suggest that the elected official could correspond to Emmanuel Macron’s expectations. “Karim Bouamrane could be part of the profiles of a future Prime Minister, because he is a local elected official, respected in the PS and he can speak to the right. But nothing is particularly committed with him”, confided a close friend of the president to The Opinion.
The man who was named a knight of the Legion of Honor does not seem totally against the idea, even if he has not officially declared that he is interested in the position. “As a political leader, yes we have a role to play, and if I have to be a leader, I will be,” he told the HuffPostlast April, when he was questioned about his national ambitions. In addition, he defends, to this day, the principle of “coalition” behind a left-wing personality at Matignon. For him, even if the New Popular Front obtained the most seats in the Assembly, “no one won”.
Mixed opinions
His profile is meeting with some success on the left. “Clearly the profile for the Elysée,” reacted Gaspard Gantzer, former advisor under François Hollande, on X. “In the context of a short-term government, where it will be necessary to snatch some social victories, the fundamental role of the left, his profile is very interesting,” assures the HuffPost a member of the Socialist Party.
However, if he were appointed, he would have to manage to convince beyond the left while keeping a certain number of NFP deputies on his side. Aurélien Taché deplores to the Huffpost an option that is “baroque in terms of politics and competence”. “If his only assets are personal casting assets, because he is a mayor, from a diverse background, anti-LFI… You will understand that that does not interest me much”, he assured.