Imminent white smoke: Michel Barnier’s government will be presented “before Sunday”, Matignon announced on Thursday, September 19. The new Prime Minister presented the version of his team in the evening to Emmanuel Macron, during an exchange described as “constructive” by Matignon. The new team will be presented after the “usual ethical checks”.
Key information to remember
⇒ Michel Barnier’s government expected “before Sunday”
⇒ The Prime Minister proposed a list of ministers to Emmanuel Macron
⇒ The left denounces “a bad joke”
The left is up in arms
While Bruno Retailleau’s name is mentioned for the Ministry of the Interior, the left denounces the nomination of this figure from the conservative camp, very right on immigration, just like that of LR senator Laurence Garnier for the Ministry of the Family, because of her positions against same-sex marriage and against the constitutionalization of abortion. “This is going to be the government of the Manif pour Tous”, denounced on TF1 this Friday the head of LFI deputies Mathilde Panot, evoking an “extreme right-wing shift of Macronie”. Bruno Retailleau would replace Gérald Darmanin, who confirmed his departure Friday morning with a message of thanks to the agents of his ministry.
On RTL, Clémentine Autain denounced “an illegitimate government”: “It’s a shame for France”, she lamented, denouncing “a bad joke”. Aurélien Rousseau, former Minister of Health under Emmanuel Macron, mocked on X: “Reading the names that are circulating, just one remark: but what would it be like if the right had won the elections…”.
MoDem MPs “upset”
On the “Macronists” side, the resigned MoDem (centre) Minister of European Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot will be proposed for Foreign Affairs, reports AFP. The Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu should be reappointed, according to a leader of the central bloc.
A distribution that does not seem to suit everyone in the Macronist camp, a MoDem source assuring that its deputies were angry, very “upset”.
The ministers proposed by Barnier to Macron
According to initial information, the list presented to the president by the Prime Minister would include 7 Macronists and 3 Republicans (LR), 2 MoDem, one Horizons and one from the centrist UDI party. Among the three ministers from the right is the head of the LR group in the Senate, Bruno Retailleau, who could be appointed to the Ministry of the Interior, according to several sources from the right and the central bloc. Laurent Wauquiez, the leader of the LR deputies who has ambitions for the Élysée for 2027, took the lead by announcing that he was giving up on joining the government after refusing the post of Minister of Finance.
Matignon promises an imminent announcement
Michel Barnier’s government will be presented “before Sunday”, Matignon announced on Thursday evening, describing as “constructive” the exchange between the Prime Minister and the President, during which the former presented the latter with a list of names for his team.
According to consistent information, the Prime Minister has presented a list of 38 ministers, including 16 full-time ministers. “Usual ethics checks” are required before the announcement.