While Emmanuel Macron is expected to quickly appoint a new Prime Minister, Xavier Bertrand’s name has been mentioned. The LR elected official could be the “experienced” profile so sought after by the head of state.
“I am ready to take up the challenge,” were the words of Xavier Bertrandon the subject of a potential nomination to the post of Prime Minister, Tuesday, August 6 in the columns of Le Figaro. “I am prepared (…) My horizon, now, is 2025. If we have another agenda in mind at Matignon, we will fail,” he confides. Officially a candidate, the former minister under Nicolas Sarkozy nevertheless assures that “it will be very complicated” if he were to be called by Emmanuel Macron. “It will take political know-how,” confides a close friend. For several days, the name of Xavier Bertrand has been coming up insistently and presents several advantages for the Elysée, in particular that of being totally in phase with the robot portrait of the Prime Minister drawn up by the President of the Republic.
A compatible Macron profile
Xavier Bertrand could be the “consensual” element sought by the head of state. Even if he does not exchange directly with Emmanuel Macron, exchanges exist, through “emissaries”, according to information from Le Parisien. A strategist from the Élysée confided to the daily that the new Prime Minister will have to be a personality “responsible for going into the wall”. In other words, previous disagreements between Macron and Bertrand might not be prohibitive for the latter, or even become an advantage concerning the tenacity of the potential appointee. A boost for the candidacy of Xavier Bertrand, in clear disagreement with the policy pursued by Emmanuel Macron in recent years. According to the Élysée, this personality will also have to give off “a scent of cohabitation” as indicated last week. Another good point for the LR.
On Sunday, August 4, the resigning Minister for Gender Equality, Aurore Bergé, mentioned three names from the Republicans to fill the post of Prime Minister in place of Gabriel Attal. Unsurprisingly, Xavier Bertrand, the President of the Hauts-de-France region, was one of them, accompanied by Michel Barnier, former Minister, and Gérard Larcher, current President of the Senate. The three “have solid experience in government, Parliament, and compromise,” believes the Macronist minister, from the right. In addition, Xavier Bertrand could very well tick the boxes of a head of government “who has experience,” and fit in with the “smell of cohabitation” desired by the President of the Republic.
He could “greatly serve France”
If the head of state wants to appoint to Matignon the head of a coalition government, with majority support in the National Assembly, he has in Xavier Bertrand, a name acclaimed by the right wing of Macronie, even by convinced republicans. “He is a great republican among the Republicans and a great regional president” declared on this subject Sabrina Agresti-Roubache, resigning Secretary of State in charge of the City, in La Grande Interview, Tuesday July 30 on CNews. The day before, on France 2, the Bertrand case was already acclaimed by the resigning Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, close to the elected official from the North: “He is a politician with very great competence”, he could “greatly serve France”. “I have my friends, but I am not the President of the Republic” indicated the number 3 of the resigning government. And the support does not stop there. “If I had been elected President of the Republic, I would probably have chosen Xavier Bertrand” as Prime Minister. “He is a very good candidate, against Lucie Castets, there is no match” declared the President of the Ile-de-France region, Valérie Pécresse, on France Inter on August 5.
A minister even indicated to Politico Politico that the appointment of Xavier Bertrand to Matignon would allow “pressure to be put on Wauquiez” or at least, would force the leader of the LR in the National Assembly to “come and discuss, really” with the central bloc. There would even be discussions between the Elysée and the future ex-president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, on the subject of the latter’s entry into the government, within an executive alliance between the Republican Right and Together for the Republic.
Field man, open to compromise
The president of the Hauts-de-France region could also allow Emmanuel Macron to speak to both the right and the left. The “scent of cohabitation” desired by the head of state would take on its full meaning. “We need an emergency government, with the Republicans, the independents, the different parties of Mr. Macron and perhaps also men and women of good will who clearly want our country not to be blocked, paralyzed in the Assembly,” Xavier Bertrand had indicated on France 2, before the “Olympic truce” decreed by the President of the Republic.
Xavier Bertrand has another asset that could please the tenant of the Elysée, playing the territory card. A man of the field, close to the people, Xavier Bertrand has been the president of the Hauts-de-France region for 8 years now, an advantage for Emmanuel Macron often criticized for his lack of empathy towards the French and his disconnection from Paris. The local elected official can also highlight his skills in budget management, assets that make the 59-year-old a credible and “Macron compatible” candidate, to cross the doors of the Hôtel de Matignon “around August 15”, or just after the Council of Ministers on August 12, as a close friend of the president confided to Le Parisien.
Who is Xavier Bertrand?
Born on March 21, 1965 in Châlons-sur-Marne, Xavier Bertrand began campaigning for the RPR at the age of 16. After studying law, he became an insurance agent while also getting involved in politics. In 2002, he became a member of parliament in the second constituency of Aisne. In 2004, he was Secretary of State for Health Insurance and then Minister of Health and Solidarity.
After supporting Nicolas Sarkozy in his campaign for the 2007 presidential election, Xavier Bertrand was appointed Minister of Labor, Social Relations and Solidarity in François Fillon’s government. In 2010, he became Minister of Labor, Employment and Health and Mayor of the city of Saint-Quentin.
After François Hollande was elected President of the Republic in 2012, Xavier Bertrand left his ministerial portfolio, but was re-elected as MP for the 2nd constituency of Aisne. Former Secretary General of the UMP (2008-2010), he remains Mayor of Saint-Quentin. During the 2014 municipal elections, he was re-elected in the first round as Mayor of the city with 52.73% of the vote.
During the 2015 regional elections, he was propelled as a candidate in the new large Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie region. He faced Marine Le Pen (FN) and Pierre de Saintignon (PS). Against all expectations, the National Front came out on top in the first round. The Socialist Party then decided to withdraw its candidate to counter Marine Le Pen. Xavier Bertrand was finally elected in the second round with 57.77% of the vote. He took office as president of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais-Picardie region in January 2016 and was re-elected in June 2021 with 52.37% of the vote. In 2021, he failed to be invested by Les Républicains for the presidential election.