Difficult to leave the ship when we arrived at the helm in the middle of a storm. Olivier Véran said goodbye this Saturday to the Ministry of Health, which he leaves to Brigitte Bourguignon after just over two years of service. “I am proud to have been on deck 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to protect what the French have most precious,” he said during his transfer of power.
Appointed in February 2020 in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, the former deputy for Isère, now Minister Delegate in charge of Relations with Parliament, believes “to have held firm in the face of the unthinkable, in a period of which we will speak to our children and our grandchildren.
Olivier Véran leaves the ministry “of the crisis”, and of the “daily life of the French”, which “monopolized the attention, the concerns, the fears, sometimes the fears, but also the hope of an entire country”, he says, also highlighting the work of caregivers, “a pillar of our social pact”, “the strength and honor of France”.
The former chief medical officer of the government also praised France’s resilience in the face of the Covid-19 crisis: “Well beyond the gesticulations and the outrageous cries of some, we have united and we have put side our disagreements and our divisions, to protect together the most fragile and support our caregivers on the front.
“Coolness” and “capacity for action”
Olivier Véran sometimes had to announce measures that were difficult to bear, such as major health restrictions. And was also illustrated by a certain freedom of tone, not hesitating to contradict some of his colleagues in the government, as during a major disagreement with Jean-Michel Blanquer.
With his departure, his ministry evolves. On the one hand, Brigitte Bourguignon obtains the Ministry of Health. On the other, Damien Abad, former leader of the Les Républicains group in the National Assembly, obtains the Ministry of Solidarity, Autonomy and Disabled People.
His successors had a few words for the work accomplished. “Everyone has been able to measure your impressive commitment to this crisis, your composure in the turmoil, alongside the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister,” said Brigitte Bourguignon.
“I believe that today the challenge is to federate, to bring together, to repair a certain number of French fractures”, affirmed Damien Abad, also praising “the commitment”, the “coolness” , and Olivier Véran’s “capacity for action”.
While the Head of State has promised a “refounded method” with more consultation and association of citizens, Olivier Véran will now have the task of being the chief facilitator, as Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister, also responsible of “democratic life”.