Bruno Le Maire had been repeating it for months, denying the many rumors already giving him to Matignon or education: he wanted to stay at Bercy. “Ministerial tourism”, very little for him. Of which act. Emmanuel Macron and Elisabeth Borne, after having wanted to entrust this ministry to Julien Denormandie, finally chose to renew “BLM” in office, Friday, May 20, for the second term of the Head of State. A sign of the importance given to his portfolio, his name was cited first by the secretary general of the Elysée, Alexis Kohler, when he listed the list of members of the government. Which makes him, in protocol terms, the number two in the government.
At the head of a powerful ministry of the economy with slightly redrawn borders – but still deprived of foreign trade, attached to the Quai d’Orsay -, the one who was one of the heavyweights of the first five-year term will not have the task easy, as the economic environment darkens and public finances offer little room for manoeuvre. “Thanks to Emmanuel Macron and Elisabeth Borne for their renewed trust, tweeted the ex-LR, a few minutes after his renewal. It is with enthusiasm and commitment that I continue my work in the service of French men and women. My priorities: employment, industrial sovereignty and the fight against inflation. »
At 53, Bruno Le Maire indeed formally becomes Minister of the Economy, Finance, Industrial and Digital Sovereignty. A somewhat amended title (exit the “relaunch” of 2020) reflecting the priorities of the Head of State, in particular the reindustrialization of the country after the health crisis, at the heart of the France 2030 investment plan announced in the fall of 2021 .
He remains the only full-time minister at Bercy, as has been the case since the 2020 reshuffle, and will be assisted in the budget by Gabriel Attal, 33, a faithful of the Head of State appointed Minister Delegate for Public Accounts. Coming from the left, former adviser to Marisol Touraine for social affairs under François Hollande, he was until then government spokesperson. He succeeds Olivier Dussopt, in office since 2020, and promoted to the Ministry of Labor. On the other hand, no post of Secretary of State has been announced, while Bercy had two until then, as well as three deputy ministers.
Economic uncertainty
Even if he is not a close friend of Emmanuel Macron, and claims a form of freedom of speech, the former candidate for the right-wing primary in 2016 has given all the pledges of loyalty to the head of state since 2017, becoming one of the faces of government during the Covid-19 crisis. He defended and embodied the government’s economic policy, even effecting an ideological conversion in favor of public spending during the pandemic. Turning into a warlord, the one who wanted to cut 500,000 civil servants in 2016 unhesitatingly opened the budgetary floodgates with “whatever it takes” when it appeared that the virus was going to cripple the economy. . Less convinced by the successive recovery and investment plans, carried by Matignon rather than Bercy, he then resumed his budgetary costume, tirelessly pleading for a pension reform.
You have 27.11% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.