Jean-Yves Le Drian will probably not be part of the next government. Who could be the new foreign minister?
The composition of the new government of Elisabeth Borne must be unveiled during the day. According to several sources, Jean-Yves Le Drian should leave his post as Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, which he has held since 2017. The one who had already been Minister of Defense under François Hollande would therefore leave the government after 10 years. Services. In the midst of the war in Ukraine, and while France is still holding the presidency of the European Union for a few months, who could ensure this difficult succession?
Two names are suggested to take over from Jean-Yves Le Drian at the Quai d’Orsay: that of Bernard Cazeneuve, first, is rumored, according to the JDD. The former Prime Minister of François Hollande recently left the Socialist Party, following the latter’s agreement with France, which did not submit to the legislative elections. But also that of Audrey Azoulay, the current director general of Unesco, which had even been mentioned for a time to replace Jean Castex at Matignon.
Jean-Yves le Drian could leave the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
At the end of March, the JDD devoted a portrait to Jean-Yves Le Drian, in which the minister, soon to be 75, evoked his desires for retirement and a return to his native Brittany. On April 30, however, the JDD quoted sources announcing the opposite: “He still has the gnaque and sees himself badly going back to Rennes”, confided a diplomat. “Politically, he has the advantage of representing the left wing of the government and is not very divisive,” added a source close to the cabinet.
“He’s stopping. That’s what he told me”, let slip François Hollande, on May 9, during the program “C’est à Vous” on France 5. A few hours later, the BFMTV journalists asked Jean-Yves Le Drian himself for confirmation. He then dodged “: “I am completely mobilized by my task in the dramatic crisis that Ukraine is going through and honestly my own person, my own future has not much to do with it, “he said. , adding: “My political confidences, I address them exclusively to the President of the Republic.”
Who to replace Jean-Yves Le Drian at the Quai d’Orsay?
According to information from the JDD, the name of Bernard Cazeneuve is rumored for the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs. The one who was Minister of the Interior, then briefly Prime Minister under François Hollande, has just left the Socialist Party. He was in fact opposed to the alliance in the legislative elections with the party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon, and reaffirmed his great attachment to the European Union in his statement of resignation. The timing could not be better for Bernard Cazeneuve if he wishes to join the Macron camp and rejoin a government.
Another serious hypothesis: that of Audrey Azoulay, also put forward by the JDD. The current president of Unesco already knows a lot about international relations. In addition, she already has experience in a government, having been Minister of Culture from 2016 to 2017: she also rubbed shoulders with Jean-Yves le Drian, who was then Minister of Defense. A time considered a plausible hypothesis for Matignon, the appointment of Audrey Azoulay to the government would not be surprising: she knows Emmanuel Macron, both worked at the Elysée at the same time, one as an adviser , the other as assistant secretary to the presidency. Finally, Audrey Azoulay is a woman, and after appointing a Prime Minister, Emmanuel Macron could well endeavor to respect parity in government.