the ex-LR soon to be minister? Signs that don’t lie

DAMIEN ABAD. The deputy of Ain, Damien Abad, announced to Figaro that he was leaving the presidency of the group Les Républicains in the National Assembly. A ministerial post is looming, the deputy of Ain is expected to join the Borne government…

[Mis à jour le 20 mai 2022 à 13h01] Will Damien Abad join the Borne government the day after his resignation from the Republicans? In any case, there are unmistakable signs, while the announcement of the new ministerial team is expected this Friday, May 20, in the afternoon. Damien Abad, who was under pressure from many LR executives for his displayed closeness to Emmanuel Macron and the majority in recent weeks, confirmed yesterday, at the end of the day, that he was leaving the presidency of the group The Republicans to the National Assembly and that he was going “on leave” from his party. The one who was asked very directly by Christian Jacob to leave his functions, explained himself in the columns of Figaro: “I decide today to leave my function as president of the LR group in the Assembly for the sake of clarity, consistency and accountability,” he said.

“I remain a right-wing man, but I no longer recognize myself in LR’s approach”, explained Damien Abad, affirming that “in the face of the populist danger, [il] don’t believe[t] not to old divisions, but to the gathering of all those who wish to move our country forward”. The timing of this resignation, less than 24 hours from the government’s announcement, and this speech which does not require very thorough deciphering, are in any case, clear signals of an upcoming appointment to the government.But there are other clues that leave little doubt about the ministerial ambitions of the deputy for Ain, who is also a candidate for re-election.

Can Damien Abad join the Macron government?

Only a few days after the re-election of Emmanuel Macron, Le Figaro had revealed a meeting at the Elysee Palace between Damien Abad and Thierry Solère, political adviser to the Head of State, known for recruiting new supporters on the right. A meeting which “remains of the order of the exchange of views”, assured his entourage to AFP. But the news, which fell in the middle of LR strategic advice, on April 26, cast a chill. Especially since, during this meeting, Damien Abad chose to abstain on the vote on the motion declaring the “independence” of the party from the Macronist bloc and from any other force in the National Assembly.

“This ni-ni does not suit me” (Damien Abad at Figaro, April 26)

“This ‘ni-ni’ does not suit me. I know how to tell the difference between Emmanuel Macron and the extremes”, then justified Damien Abad, questioned about his abstention by Le Figaro. Since then, regularly questioned about the possibility of seeing him join the presidential majority, the deputy has remained evasive.

Damien Abad figures in any case in good place among the potential ministers coming from the right, with Caroline Cayeux, mayor of Beauvais, or even Catherine Vautrin, a time mentioned for the post of Prime Minister. Several times questioned on this question, Damien Abad has for the moment contented himself with kicking in touch: “I have no comment to make on the composition of the government”, he evacuated this Thursday when, more earlier in the day, Christian Jacob reproached him in a press release for waiting for Emmanuel Macron’s decision “to take it or not to take it from the government” before making his choice.

Can the departure of Damien Abad from LR lead to others?

What consequences could the departure of Damien Abad from the presidency of the LR group in the Assembly and his putting on leave of the Republicans have? “Yes [LREM] managed to poach Abad, we would clearly be in trouble for the legislative elections. He is the boss of the LR deputies, can you imagine the confusion in the minds of the voters?” confided a party executive several days ago to the Figaro. An elected LR also said that Damien Abad would have “received a few elected officials in a small committee at the Assembly”, on Monday April 25. “How many felons?” wondered this same elected official.

Thursday, May 19, Damien Abad himself assured it in the columns of Figaro: “There is no unanimity of the group against me, nor for a frontal and radical opposition to Emmanuel Macron. I received many messages of support from LR deputies. I do not want to put them in difficulty, but they share my political line.

However, Les Républicains hastened to invest a candidate against Damien Abad for the upcoming legislative elections, in the 5th constituency of Ain, where he has been elected since 2012, as France Télévisions indicated on Thursday. May 19. LR is counting on Julien Martinez, municipal councilor of Oyonnax, to disrupt the campaign of the recent resigner.

Another sign of a rapprochement with the presidential majority and another cause for anger among the leaders of the Republicans: LREM for its part has not invested any candidate against Damien Abad …

Damien Abad, figure of the inclusion of people with disabilities

Damien Abad suffers from a rare congenital disease called “arthrogryposis”. This disease, known as “fetal immobility syndrome”, causes neurological abnormalities even before birth and manifests itself in a series of muscular problems in the four limbs. The consequences can also be skeletal or visceral. If birth mortality is high, a patient’s lifespan can then be normal, but often with severe handicaps.

Damien Abad is the first elected representative of the Fifth Republic to carry such a heavy handicap. The president of the LR group in the Assembly until 2022, is in this sense one of the rare personalities to embody the inclusion of people with physical disabilities in the political world in France. However, he rarely talks about it. Last January, without mentioning his personal case, he asked for a “public apology” from Eric Zemmour who had castigated “the obsession with the inclusion” of children with disabilities in schools, believing that their place was in “specialized establishments “. In the columns of Figaro, Damien Abad denounced a form “an intolerable step back” and “a stab” for “all the families who fight daily for the integration of their children”.

We have to go back to an interview in January 2020 to see Damien Abad talk about his illness: “I have always made sure that it is neither a brake nor a driving force in politics”, he said then. “The very first time you come to a market, to distribute leaflets, that’s when it’s the most difficult.”