Gabriel Attal is appointed Prime Minister and succeeds Elisabeth Borne at Matignon. The transfer of power is expected at 2:30 p.m. with two speeches that will be scrutinized: Borne’s goodbyes and the entry of the 34-year-old politician who must now compose his government.
After a week of rumors about the departure of the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne submitted her resignation to Emmanuel Macron at the end of the day on Monday January 8. A departure which does not seem to be wanted by the sixty-year-old but rather driven by the President of the Republic as his resignation letter suggests: “Mr. President of the Republic, you have informed me of your desire to appoint a new Prime Minister”.
Elisabeth Borne having left her position, the time has come to appoint her replacement. On the evening of Sunday January 7 and more seriously on January 8, the hypothesis of a nomination of Gabriel Attal to Matignon holds the rope. The Minister of Education is presented as the favorite ahead of the previously mentioned names of the Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu and the former Minister of Agriculture Julien Denormandie. If other rumors have circulated, such as that about the appointment of Richard Ferrand, they have been dismissed.
On the side of the ministers in danger are those nicknamed the “rebellious” for their opposition to the immigration law: Clément Beaune (Transport), Rima Abdul-Malak (Culture), Patrice Vergriete (Housing), Sylvie Retailleau (Higher Education) and Roland Lescure (Industry). We must also cite the Minister of Health Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, appointed interim after the resignation of Aurélien Rousseau, who is the subject of an investigation for having received gifts from a pharmaceutical laboratory without declaring them as part of her profession as a pharmacist. Catherine Colonna based at the Quai d’Orsay would also be in the hot seat according to Le Parisien.
The case of the Minister of Labor, Olivier Dussopt, raises questions. The man is scheduled to stand trial in his favoritism trial on January 17. The head of state could want to part ways without waiting for the verdict or, on the contrary, keep the minister, who benefits from the presumption of innocence, within the government, at the risk of having to replace him at the end of January.
Some ministers could remain within the executive, but land in different functions. In the game of musical chairs Sébastien Lecornu is in the lead since he could, according to persistent rumors, go from Minister of the Armed Forces to Prime Minister. The hypothesis is also raised for the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire.
At the Ministry of the Interior, someone other than Gérald Darmanin could take over according to some rumors. The “first cop in France”, weakened after the vote on the immigration law, would like to leave Beauvau for the Quai d’Orsay. But a replacement at the Interior seems difficult a few months before the Paris Olympic Games.
If he remains in the government Olivier Dussopt could also move, who would be interested in the Ministry of the Armed Forces according to Le Parisien.
