Gabriel Attal’s government is finally complete this Thursday, February 8. Around thirty ministers have been appointed in total and a new change is planned in National Education. Who are the new ministers?
More than three weeks after the appointment of the prime ministers, Gabriel Attal’s government is finally complete this Thursday, February 8 and has 35 ministers. The negotiations were (too) long and were delayed by blockages in the discussions. The case of Amélie Oudéa-Castéra caused a lot of ink to flow in view of the controversies which followed one after the other around the Minister of Education, Sports and the Olympic Games, but it was decided to replace her. It is ultimately Nicole Belloubet, former Minister of Justice from 2017 to 2020, who takes over at Education, while Amélie Oudéa-Castéra retains the full Ministry of Sports. The other announcement that was expected was that concerning the Minister of Health, Frédéric Valletoux was appointed to be delegated minister under the supervision of Catherine Vautrin.
François Bayrou, once expected to join the government and more particularly the Ministry of Education, is not joining the executive. However, he had warned the day before of his absence from the government, due to lack of deep agreement on the policy to follow with the government. The boss of the MoDem, however, remains an ally of the majority and several elected officials from the MoDem are appointed within the executive.
Despite these latest appointments of delegate ministers and secretaries of state, the political balance changes little within the government. The right remains predominant since the leading portfolios do not change ministers – Bruno Le Maire (Economy), Gérald Darmanin (Interior), Éric Dupond-Moretti (Justice) or even Sébastien Lecornu (Armies) – and the arrival of Nicole Belloubet, from the left, is not enough to reverse the trend. The same goes for parity, if it is respected, this government is criticized for not having many women appointed to head the most important ministries.
Secretaries of State