Will the formation of the government, expected for 75 days, (finally) reach its epilogue this weekend? Normally yes, but it is advisable to be cautious in this matter. After “final adjustments”, Michel Barnier sent a “finalized” list of names to the head of state on Friday evening. The tenant of Matignon, who has “complete freedom” to compose his team, assures Emmanuel Macron, still hopes to be able to present it “before Sunday”.
Key information to remember
⇒ Michel Barnier sent a “finalized” list of names to Emmanuel Macron on Friday evening.
⇒ Certain personalities expected in this new government are causing concern within the presidential camp
⇒ Environmentalists and rebels were to join demonstrations organized this Saturday in France against the Macron-Barnier tandem.
The left is outraged by the government in preparation
“No one” in the New Popular Front “wants to go into this Raft of the Medusa which is already sinking”, denounced the rebellious MEP Manon Aubry on France Inter, denouncing a team led by Michel Barnier who will be, according to her, “on a drip from the extreme right”.
Environmentalists and rebels were to join demonstrations organized Saturday in several cities in France by associations, student, environmental and feminist organizations against the Macron-Barnier tandem. “It is a question of dignity for an entire people, after an election denied and stolen by the President of the Republic,” notes the leader of the rebel deputies, Mathilde Panot.
Gérald Darmanin confirms his departure from the government
In a letter published on X on Friday evening, the resigning Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin confirmed that he would not be part of the new government, currently being formed by Michel Barnier. “As I leave to return to the National Assembly, I send a message to all the agents of the Ministry of the Interior whom I thank deeply for their dedication. Thank you to the President of the Republic for having given me the means, budgetary and political, to support them for more than four years,” he wrote.
A “finalized” list sent by Barnier to Macron
The announcement of the new government could be made this Saturday at the end of the day. “Everything depends on the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (HATVP)”, which must verify that no prospective minister is in trouble with the tax authorities or has a conflict of interest, the Prime Minister’s entourage stressed this Saturday. In the meantime, the latter spoke by telephone with the Head of State on Friday evening after having sent him “the final composition of the government” according to this source. On Thursday, a list of 38 ministers, including 16 full-time ministers, had already been sent to the President of the Republic.
The concerns of the presidential camp
More than two weeks after Michel Barnier’s arrival at Matignon, the presidential camp remains divided on the way forward. Some personalities expected in this new government, very much on the right (such as Bruno Retailleau at the Interior or, at the Family, the LR senator Laurence Garnier, opposed to same-sex marriage), are causing concern within the Macronist camp. After two crisis meetings on Friday around François Bayrou, the MoDem has “not fully confirmed” its participation while waiting for the “finalized” list to be sent to the Elysée.
“We want to see if the right-wing trend is still as strong or if there has been a rebalancing,” Perrine Goulet, a MoDem representative in Nièvre, told AFP. “We want a government that is as in line as possible with the distribution that emerged from the ballot boxes” in the legislative elections, where Les Républicains only obtained 47 deputies, even if “we don’t want Michel Barnier to fail.”
Some voices in the ally Horizons do not seem more convinced. Appointing Laurence Garnier is crossing “a red line” for Pierre-Yves Bournazel. The former MP from Edouard Philippe’s party seems, on the other hand, ready to accept Bruno Retailleau. “It is not my political line, but it is a coalition, and a coalition is a compromise,” he explains. With only one full minister expected, Horizons, although enthusiastic about the appointment of Michel Barnier, also believes that it has not “been treated well,” according to one of its executives.
Uncertainties over certain positions
Will Michel Barnier’s “finalized” list be the last? In recent days, “names have been moving in all directions,” summarizes a ministerial advisor. Macronist MP Antoine Armand, once tipped to be at Bercy, no longer seemed to be in the new version, according to concordant sources.
In National Education, the largest ministry, the Macronist elected representative from the North Violette Spillebout was reportedly sidelined. The Renaissance MP for French People Abroad, Anne Genetet, better known for her expertise on defense issues, was reportedly approached for this position, designated by the Head of State in 2023 as a “reserved domain”.
A left-wing demonstration organized this Saturday
The left, whose coalition came out on top in the legislative elections, is also outraged by a future government marked by the right. Environmentalists and rebels were to join demonstrations organized this Saturday in several cities in France by associations, student, environmental and feminist organizations against the Macron-Barnier tandem.
“It is a question of dignity for an entire people, after an election denied and stolen by the President of the Republic,” notes the leader of the rebellious deputies, Mathilde Panot. La France insoumise intends to “increase popular pressure” after a first day of protest on September 7, which brought together between 110,000 (police) and 300,000 people (organizers) throughout France. In Paris, between 20,000 and 40,000 people are expected this Saturday, including 100 to 200 radical elements, according to a police source.
The head of state has installed at Matignon “a hard-right, anti-social, anti-migrant Prime Minister with a homophobic past who will only be able to govern with the permanent agreement of Marine Le Pen”, wrote the Student Union, the Union syndicale et lycéenne, the Family Planning and Attac France in their call for mobilisation.