A quick tour and then he leaves. Most of the ministers in Gabriel Attal’s government, appointed in January 2024, were not reappointed in Michel Barnier’s new government, unveiled late Saturday, September 21.
This government – “fragile” and “without heavyweights”, according to François Hollande – gives pride of place to the presidential party Renaissance, and gives a good place to the party Les Républicains, two parties which nevertheless came out in sharp decline in the legislative elections caused by the dissolution of the National Assembly.
Among the newcomers, the main surprise is the appointment of Renaissance MP Anne Genetet to National Education, who is better known for defense issues. Teachers’ unions are already firing broadsides at the new minister. This is “a casting error in light of the challenges for schools,” believes Sophie Vénétitay, general secretary of Snes-FSU. “Angry,” Guislaine David, general secretary of FSU-Snuipp, deplores the appointment of a “clone of Gabriel Attal to continue the policy initiated.” In National Education, Anne Genetet is the fifth minister in the space of just over two years, after Pap Ndiaye, Gabriel Attal, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra and Nicole Belloubet.
Six health ministers in two years
At the Ministry of Housing, where centrist Valérie Létard was appointed, four ministers have succeeded one another in this position in an equally short time frame: Olivier Klein, Patrice Vergriete, Guillaume Kasbarian and Valérie Létard.
Another important portfolio has undergone a major waltz: that of Health. MoDem doctor Geneviève Darrieussecq, a loyal supporter of François Bayrou, has taken the reins of the Ministry of Health and Access to Care, a sector in difficulty where the confidence of professionals is waning. Since May 2022, no fewer than six ministers have held this position: Brigitte Bourguignon, François Braun, Aurélien Rousseau, Agnès Firmin-Le Bodo, Catherine Vautrin (with Frédéric Valletoux as Minister Delegate), and therefore Geneviève Darrieussecq.
Although these positions have had different faces, they are nonetheless essential. Other positions are appearing in the Barnier government, such as the Secretary of State for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technology. Clara Chappaz, director of the “French Tech” mission attached to Bercy and former start-up manager, is entering the government in this position. At 35, she succeeds Marina Ferrari, who only stayed seven months in Digital Technology. She had also inherited the status of Secretary of State while her predecessor, Jean-Noël Barrot, now at the Quai d’Orsay, had the rank of Minister Delegate.