2023-07-10 18:44:11
The Minister Delegate for Overseas Territories, Jean-François Carenco, at the National Assembly, in Paris, June 8, 2023. JULIEN MUGUET FOR “THE WORLD”
He says it himself, the job is grueling and he finds himself ” a little tired “. Jean-François Carenco, the Minister Delegate for Overseas, celebrated his 71st birthday on July 7 between two planes. “I have 200 subjects a week to settle. I am in my office before 6 a.m. and leave at 11 p.m. I made 21 trips in eleven months”he wishes to underline this June 6, in front of the Ministerial Press Association which he receives in the salons of rue Oudinot.
“Carenco”, as elected officials call it, has been accumulating criticism for months. To the point that, a year after taking office, senior officials no longer hesitate to be annoyed by a “casting error”. “He’s the annoying uncle you can have in a family”says on condition of anonymity one of these members of the administration.
Prefect of Guadeloupe in 1999, former chief of staff to Jean-Louis Borloo at the Ministry of Ecology, Chairman of the Energy Regulation Commission (CRE) from 2017 to 2022, this State clerk displays a passion for its overseas portfolio. “I lost half of my salary compared to the CRE! Do you know how much a minister earns? 6,800 euros net! »he testifies to it in his own way.
“Water in Guadeloupe, it’s settled”
The Minister Delegate, whose roadmap consists first of all in “respond to everyday concerns”says its budget, 2.4 billion euros in 2023 (up 11%), “has never been so high”although deferrals of charges hamper its implementation and it weighs only a small part of the State’s spending overseas – 21.7 billion in all. “Our subjects are moving forward”, ” The results are in “, “I am a positive guy”, he repeats. To the press, he wishes to clarify: “Overseas is being built, it shows less than in Paris! » Or : ” I hate racists. This government is more to the right than me. »
The man appreciates a good aperitif and shows a sense of humor that often leaves his interlocutors doubtful. Accompanying to Mayotte Gérald Darmanin, his supervising minister, on June 24 and 25, he launched to a member of his delegation who saw lemurs in the trees: “There are lemurs, there are also good-for-nothings. »
Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers Chlordecone: after the case was dismissed, the Minister responsible for overseas territories recognizes the “humiliation” suffered by the West Indies
Her passages before Parliament mobilize her administration: what surprise will she have to manage? In audition, the host of rue Oudinot affirms that “water in Guadeloupe, it’s settled”, when cuts remain daily. Hammer that “Inflation is lower overseas than in France”which may be true (+ 3.6% in Guadeloupe in 2022 against + 6.2% in France) but causes exasperation in a context where overseas food prices continue to be at least 30% higher .
You have 63.77% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.
#Minister #JeanFrançois #Carenco #center #criticism