“Act faster and stronger” for the climate: Elisabeth Borne, appointed Prime Minister on Monday, set her priority during a handover ceremony in Matignon at the end of the day, after paying strong tribute to her predecessor, Jean Castex, who left office without concealing his emotion.
Faced with “the climatic and ecological challenge on which we must act faster and stronger, I am convinced that we will be able to do so by involving even more the living forces of our territory, because it is very close to the French that we will find the right answers”, launched the new Prime Minister.
Elisabeth Borne also paid tribute to her only predecessor in this post, Edith Cresson, and dedicated her appointment “to all the little girls”, whom she invited to “go after (their) dreams”.
A few minutes earlier, Mrs. Cresson, first and until then only woman to occupy Matignon in 1991, had rejoiced at a “very good choice” of Prime Minister, “because she is a remarkable person, not because it’s a woman”.
During her first speech as head of government, Ms. Borne, who came from the left, also took the time to pay tribute to her predecessor, a former member of LR: “You were able to conquer the heart of the French by relentlessly crisscrossing our country by going to meet them”, she launched to him, observing sharing “a lot of things in common”, “even if we come from different political families”.
After having exchanged in his now ex-office with his successor, Jean Castex spoke first on the steps of the Matignon hotel, which he had been a tenant for almost two years, moved as rarely. “I will take a step aside, leaving national political life in which I finally entered only a little by breaking and entering in July 2020”, he indicated to the loud applause of the staff. of Matignon gathered in the courtyard.
“I tried (…) to lead the boat in completely exceptional circumstances (of health crisis) with a single objective: to protect, to appease, to explain, to gather, to federate”, he argued.
Elisabeth Borne was until then Minister of Labor, after having held the portfolios of Transport and Ecological Transition since 2017.
Jean Castex presented his resignation to Emmanuel Macron on Monday around 4:00 p.m., who accepted it immediately. The two men exchanged for about an hour before a tweet from the Head of State thanking him for having “acted with passion and commitment in the service of France”, calling to be “proud of the work accomplished and the results obtained together” .
In another message posted on Twitter, the head of state listed the priorities he expected from the new head of government: “ecology, health, education, full employment, democratic renaissance, Europe and security”.
Emmanuel Macron assured a week ago in Berlin that he already knew the name of his next Prime Minister, endowed according to him with a “social”, “ecological” and “productive” profile.
Since then, rumors have been swirling. Only certainty, believed to know his entourage: it will be a woman. Especially since 74% of French people are for it, according to an Ifop poll published in the JDD.
After a weekend dominated by the names of former minister Catherine Vautrin (ex-LR), Valérie Létard (centrist) or Marisol Touraine (ex-PS), the Elisabeth Borne hypothesis finally prevailed.
This tenacious technician, deemed loyal, is perceived by macronie as having proven herself in government during the entire last five-year term, from Transport to Labor to Ecology.
This former chief of staff of Ségolène Royal also has the merit of belonging to the left wing of macronie, an asset at a time when new social reforms are announced, starting with “the mother of battles” on the retreats.
Placing “social justice and equal opportunity” at the heart of his fights, the hypothesis of his appointment was however viewed with circumspection by certain lieutenants of Emmanuel Macron, judging the profile of this engineer who became prefect “not political enough” , while she will face universal suffrage for the first time during the June legislative elections in Calvados – a candidacy confirmed by her entourage on Monday evening.
This choice is all the more strategic as it confirms the direction that the Head of State intends to take, who has promised to take into account the anger expressed by many French people during the “yellow vests” crisis. and during the presidential election, and to change the method.
“The composition of the new government, the identity of the great ministers, the identity of the Prime Minister can have a very strong importance on the legislative elections”, underlined Sunday evening on LCI the pollster Frédéric Dabi, of Ifop , recalling that “the appointment of Edouard Philippe in 2017 had allowed the presidential majority to break the right into several pieces”.
But, he notes, “the impatience of the French” focuses above all “on questions of inflation, purchasing power, environment and security” which will have to be answered in an anxiety-provoking context of crisis. of the Covid and the war in Ukraine which favor soaring energy and food prices.
The new government team, promised tighter, is now expected in the coming days and will have to lead the battle for the legislative elections, scheduled for June 12 and 19.
For the time being, the presidential bloc is credited with some 26% of voting intentions and would retain a majority in the National Assembly, however challenged by the New Popular Ecological and Social Union between LFI, EELV, PS and PCF (Nupes) , which would get 28% and the National Rally (24%) of Marine Le Pen.
These oppositions accuse Mr. Macron of “social damage”, castigating in particular the reform of the pension at 64-65 years announced.
The head of LFI Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who won 22% of the vote in the first round of the presidential election, announced to him on Sunday that he wanted to raise the minimum wage to 1,500 euros net in the event of Nupes’ success in the legislative elections. Himself a candidate for the post of Prime Minister in the event of victory of his coalition in the legislative elections, he described Monday Ms. Borne as “figure among the harshest of social abuse”.
Marine Le Pen for her part considered that by appointing Ms. Borne to Matignon, Emmanuel Macron “continues his policy of social destruction”.
05/16/2022 20:50:34 – Paris (AFP) – © 2022 AFP