2024-01-12 11:43:13
France has a new government.
Newly appointed Prime Minister Gabriel Attal presented the names to Macron on Thursday with the Elysée publishing the full list later in the evening. The long-awaited reshuffle – aimed at rejuvenating Macron’s second term in office – saw several new names and some heavyweight ministers holding onto their positions.
Among the new ministers was 38-year-old Stéphane Séjourné, the former partner of Gabriel Attal, who became the youngest person to take up the role of foreign minister.
The composition of the new cabinet quickly sparked controversy in France;
The appointment of Rachida Dati as Culture Minister
In a surprising move Rachida Dati, the former Justice Minister during the presidency of Nicolas Sarkozy, member of the right-wing opposition Republicans party, and former MP for the European Parliament, was named the new culture minister, replacing Rima Abdul Malak.
Dati currently serves as the mayor of Paris’ 7th arrondissement and has been an outspoken critic of Macron and in particular of right-wing politicians who have previously joined his governments.
Paris’ 7th district mayor Rachida Dati delivers a speech in January 2022 (Photo by Geoffroy VAN DER HASSELT / AFP)
In addition to her positions on social issues – including her former opposition to the extension of IVF rights to all women, including members of the LGBT community – left-wing figures in French politics also noted that Dati was indicted in 2021 for corruption.
The deputy mayor of Paris, Emmanuel Grégoire, tweeted “Previously, an indicted minister had to resign. Now an indictment for corruption can be named minister. What an inspiration for the world of culture.”
David Belliard, another deputy mayor of Paris, also posted on X, “Rachida Dati, under investigation for corruption and trading in influence, and close to the autocratic regime in Azerbaijan, has been rewarded with a post as Minister of Culture. In Macron’s eyes, that must also be what it means to “make France proud”.
Rachida Dati, indicted for corruption and influence peddling, close to the autocratic regime of Azerbaijan, is therefore rewarded with the post of Minister of Culture. In Macron’s eyes, that must also be “making France proud” – sic. https://t.co/iDP0bgSq3k
— David Belliard (@David_Belliard) January 11, 2024
Dati is suspected of having received €900,000 between 2009-2011 from Renault to lobby the EU parliament when she was an MEP.
The new culture minister reportedly admits to having received the money, but denies carrying out any lobbying for Renault.
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal discussed Dati’s legal situation on TF1 on Thursday night, noting that “an indictment is not a conviction. It does not mean guilt.” Attal went on to call Dati a “woman of commitment, of energy.”
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Some have also supported Dati’s appointment, including Frédéric Mitterrand, the former culture minister from 2009-2012. Noting her lack of experience in the field, Mitterand told RTL on Friday “She doesn’t know anything about it, but that’s okay.”
Mitterrand said “[Dati] is capable of running a strong team, with solid people because she has character and works hard” and that she would “defend artists against all odds”.
There has been talk that Dati struck a deal with Macron that will help her battle to become mayor of Paris in the next municipal elections in 2026.
A move to the right
When Macron came to power in 2017, his government mixed figures from the right and the left but the new cabinet is heavily sprinkled with right-wing names.
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The president opted to maintain hardline interior minister Gérald Darmanin and armed forces minister Sébastien Lecornu in their positions, while adding Rachida Dati and the former MP for the centre-right Republicans party, Catherine Vautrin, who replaced Olivier Dussopt as labour minister.
The longstanding Finance Minister Bruno Lemaire also heralds from the centre-right Republicans party.
Left-wing MPs were quick to slam the ‘shift to the right’. Socialist leader Olivier Faure said on X that “rather than being a ‘regeneration’, the government was one of “Sarkozy dinosaurs”‘.
“Regeneration” is therefore that of the Sarkozystes dinosaurs,
“Civic rearmament” is therefore the appointment of a minister indicted for influence peddling and corruption.After the wow effect, the pschitt effect#reshuffle
— Olivier Faure (@faureolivier) January 11, 2024
Eric Coquerel, deputé for the left-wing France Unbowed party (LFI) told France 2 “We’ve fired all those who had second thoughts (…) and they’ve been replaced by people from the right.
“One of Gabriel Attal’s objectives will be to bring together all or part of the Republicans to form a majority”.
READ MORE: OPINION: Macron’s gamble is an opportunity and a curse for new French PM Attal
Macron’s political party lacks a majority in parliament and is already riven by disagreements over the immigration law, which was greatly hardened as a condition for receiving necessary support from the Republicans.
On top of that, Macron cannot run again in 2027 presidential elections, so relaunching his government was seen as crucial to help prevent Le Pen becoming president.
Nevertheless, far-right leaders, like Marion Maréchal from Eric Zemmour’s Reconquest party, saw the shift to the right as a possible victory, especially ahead of the European elections in June.
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“The dissolution of LR into Macronism is complete. Now the true right is definitely Reconquest!” she said.
The blending of important ministries
Two key ministries – education and health – will no longer stand alone in the new government.
Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, the minister for sport and the Olympic Games, was appointed to also lead the education ministry, which was previously headed by Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.
Attal defended the decision on TF1, saying that he had “every confidence in [Oudéa-Castéra] to lead this project.
“There is a lot of coherence between sports and school, precisely because we want to continue to strengthen sports practice at school,” he said.
The PM also promised to remain “very involved” with the education ministry, even as prime minister.
However, some teaching unions have not agreed with the prime minister’s judgment. “We are going to have a half-time minister (…) It’s frustrating to see how state education, which is currently going through an unprecedented crisis, is being treated,” Sophie Vénétitay, the head of the SNES-FSU union told Franceinfo.
Guislaine David, the head of the primary union for teachers, FSU-SNUipp, said “It’s contemptuous because we are going to have a minister who will be very busy and not at all focused on our issues.”
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As for health, Catherine Vautrin who was named labour minister, would take on the role as Minister of Health, replacing the interim minister Agnès Firmin le Bodo.
Healthcare professionals have already begun to contest the nomination.
Emergency physician Patrick Pelloux told The Parisian that “bringing together these enormous ministries, when we are experiencing a social crisis, a hospital crisis, is to make fun of the world.”
The doctor worried that the combination of ministries would lead to a smaller budget for health.
Jérôme Marty, the head of the medical union UFML told the French daily “this grouping is a bad sign. We are stuck with someone who has no knowledge of the problem. We are in a bad situation.”
Marty also expressed concerns over who would directly run the health ministry in the day-to-day. “A junior minister or delegate, they will be obligated to put someone in, otherwise it would become a puppet ministry”.
Too few women in positions of power
Taking over from France’s second female premier, Élisabeth Borne, several noted that Attal’s new cabinet of ministers was predominantly male.
Even though multiple women took on ministerial positions – from sport and culture to labour, no one was appointed to head a ‘regalian’ ministry, as noted by left-wing MP Sandrine Rousseau on X.
No woman in a sovereign ministry.
We are here, cool, relaxed about the great cause. #Reshuffle— Sandrine Rousseau (@sandrousseau) January 11, 2024
The regalian offices include justice, defence, and foreign affairs, typically seen as the more influential ministries. The ministers heading up these ministries are less frequently replaced, according to Public Life.
In the new government, Éric Dupond-Moretti will stay on as justice minister, Gérald Darmanin will remain as defence minister, and head of Macron’s party Renaissance, Stéphane Séjourné, took over as the foreign affairs minister, replacing Catherine Colonna.
Even though the new cabinet technically respected gender parity with 7 women and 7 me, three of the women were named so-called “ministre deleguée” – a junior position under the PM, according to West France.
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