Ministers who have expressed their reservations about the immigration law find themselves in a delicate position, as a reshuffle seems imminent.
What future for the “puputschists”? Several ministers in the Borne government distanced themselves from the immigration bill in December, some going so far as to threaten to resign if a text that was too harsh was adopted, according to Le Figaro. Now that the rumor of a reshuffle is gaining ground, these ministers are in an uncomfortable situation. Mostly from the left, they were until then the guarantors of the “at the same time” advocated by the executive. If Macron decided to dismiss them, the balance would tilt severely to the right.
At the head of this December micro revolt, Clément Beaune is tensing up resentments. The Minister for Transport was the instigator of a dinner between members of the government opposed to the immigration law, as well as a WhatsApp loop pompously named “Values”. The former socialist seems to have smelled the danger, because he declared all his good will to Le Parisien on Thursday January 4: “There are still beautiful things that I want to bring” to the government, he assured, always saying “happy to serve”.
Same reflex for the Minister Delegate for Housing Patrice Vergriete. The former socialist mayor of Dunkirk, who was also one of those who had threatened to resign, said he was reassured by Emmanuel Macron’s statements returning to the harshest measures provided for by the immigration law, according to Le Monde. “I am one of the ministers who had questions, and the Prime Minister answered our questions, as did the President of the Republic,” said Roland Lescure, Minister Delegate for Industry, on France Inter.
Will these backpedals be enough to convince Emmanuel Macron to give up? It remains to be seen whether the head of state is still keen to maintain a balance between left and right in government. Especially since Olivier Dussopt, also a former socialist, sees his future at the Ministry of Labor suspended by a court decision expected in mid-January. And Macron will not easily find replacements in the ranks of the left these days.
