Nfter the setback for the presidential party in the parliamentary elections, President Emmanuel Macron presented a new government team on Monday. The cabinet list stands for continuity and chair changes between members of the government, there are hardly any surprising newcomers. The president invited the government, which has grown to 42 people, to a cabinet meeting that afternoon.
The cabinet list puts an end to speculation about a possible governing coalition with the conservative right or a rapprochement with the Greens. Although the presidential camp has only had a relative majority in the National Assembly since the parliamentary elections, Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has not attempted coalition negotiations. The group leader of the right-wing party Les Républicains (LR), Olivier Marleix, has set out specific support for the government in a two-page letter to the Prime Minister.
Demands include a reduction in employers’ contributions and the abolition of the social tax increase CSG for all pensioners. In addition, the LR parliamentary group leader is demanding a reduction in fuel taxes in order to guarantee a maximum price of 1.50 euros per liter for all fuels. “It is totally unfair and shocking that the state is enriching itself at the expense of the French from the increased fuel prices,” the letter said. Prime Minister Borne has not yet responded. She will present the government program to the National Assembly on Wednesday.
New Environment and Health Minister
The most important new appointments relate to the environment and health. Christophe Béchu, previously Associate Minister for Local Authorities, will also assume responsibility for “ecological change” and become Minister. Béchu, 48, comes from former Prime Minister Édouard Philippe’s Horizons party. He succeeds Amélie de Montchalin, who has to step down from government responsibility due to her electoral defeat. Health Minister Brigitte Bourguignon, who was also defeated in her constituency, will be replaced at the head of the Ministry of Health by 60-year-old emergency doctor Francois Braun. As head of the emergency room in Thionville in Lorraine, he sounded the alarm early on when the pandemic began and warned that public hospitals would be overwhelmed. Braun recently worked out 41 recommendations to cushion the nursing shortage in hospitals. He has regularly warned that the pandemic is not over yet.
Former LR parliamentary group leader Damien Abad left the government. Allegations of rape had been raised against the Minister of Solidarity. The public prosecutor’s office in Paris initiated an investigation. He is succeeded by Jean-Christophe Combe, the former director general of the Red Cross in France, who previously worked for various mayors and senators. The new government spokesman will be former Health Minister Olivier Véran, whose face the French associate with the pandemic. He is given the rank of Associate Minister and responsible for “democratic renewal”. Franck Riester becomes the new parliamentary minister, handing over responsibility for foreign trade to Olivier Becht. The Alsatian Becht most recently led the Agir faction, a split from the Republicans.
After the end of the French EU Council Presidency, Europe Minister Clément Beaune will take over as head of the Ministry of Transport. He is succeeded by the OECD chief economist Laurence Boone, albeit with the rank of Secretary of State. Boone, 53, has worked for insurance company Axa and Barclays Bank. In 2014, she succeeded Emmanuel Macron as economic advisor at the Élysée Palace. Her nomination is taken as a sign that the future focus could be on the financial stability of the euro zone. Boone stood the test of time during the euro crisis.
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