The rule has been unchanged since 2007, even if it is not written into any constitutional text. While a minister can stand in the legislative elections following his appointment, he takes the risk of having to leave his government post in the event of defeat. “Frankly, the logic is that when you are beaten, it means that you do not have the support of the people and that you cannot remain in government”, said former Prime Minister François Fillon in 2007.
This year, several ministers of the new government announced on Friday will face the ballot box on June 12 and 19. Starting with the first of them, Elisabeth Borne. The former boss of the RATP is running in the 6th district of Calvados, notably facing a young environmental activist who defends the colors of the New Popular Ecological and Social Union, Noé Gauchard.
A total of 15 members of the government are candidates. We can also mention Gérald Darmanin (in the North), Olivier Véran (in Isère), Olivia Grégoire (in Paris), Gabriel Attal (Hauts-de-Seine) or the Republican defector, Damien Abad (in Ain ). The presidential majority had also invested no candidate against the former president of the LR group in the National Assembly, a sign that a rallying was in the cards.
Juppé beaten in 2007
In 2007, Alain Juppé, then Minister of Ecology, Development and Sustainable Development in the first government led by François Fillon, left office after being beaten (by very little) in his constituency of Gironde.
In 2012 and then in 2017, the new Prime Ministers Jean-Marc Ayrault then Edouard Philippe had warned that the rule was maintained: any minister defeated at the ballot box will have to leave his post. “It’s the Republican tradition. A minister who is a candidate in the legislative elections and who does not win, he presents his resignation to the Prime Minister. It’s always been like that, and it’s quite healthy, “said Emmanuel Macron’s first head of government shortly after his appointment in May 2017.
But each time, none of them found themselves in this scenario. Indeed, the 26 members of the government candidates in 2012 then the 6 in 2017 were all elected to the National Assembly. Will the rule be maintained this year? All the candidate ministers hope in any case to win. After hesitating for a long time, Minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher had for her part given up on presenting herself in Pas-de-Calais, a territory where the National Rally achieves big scores.