(B2) The new French government led by Jean Castex has just been announced, with limited changes in external sovereign positions. It is especially the Interior-Justice axis that is moving
(credit: Elysee)
After the defeat of his party La République en Marche (LaREM) in the municipal elections, French President Emmanuel Macron decided to change Prime Minister and reshuffle the government. The list of some 30 ministers and delegate ministers was announced Monday (July 6) at the end of the day. The secretaries of state will be in the coming days.
New entrants
Jean Castex (ex-LR), Prime Minister
(credit: FR government)
Known to be close to Nicolas Sarkozy, Jean Castex was appointed to replace Édouard Philippe on Friday (July 3). A graduate of ENA (Victor Hugo promotion - 1991), a master's degree in public law (1987) and Sciences Po Paris (1986), he was mayor of Prades (small town in the eastern Pyrenees) since 2008.
In 1999, he took the position of secretary general of the Vaucluse prefecture and sub-prefect in charge of city policy. He then left for the east of France to become president of the regional chamber of accounts of Alsace, where he remained for three years (2001-2004). After that, his specialization in health will begin. He became the director of hospitalization and the organization of care (2004-2006), before taking charge of the office of Xavier Bertrand, Minister of Health then of Labor, from 2006 to 2008 (during the French presidency of the EU).
He then joined the Élysée, within the cabinet of President Nicolas Sarkozy. First as social affairs advisor (Nov. 2010 - Feb. 2011), then very quickly as deputy secretary general of the Élysée (until May 2012). At that time, he returned to figures: he became Senior Advisor to the Court of Auditors from 2012 to 2017. Following this, he turned to sport, focusing on the organization of the Paris Olympic Games as an interministerial delegate. , then interministerial delegate to major sporting events (2018) and president of the National Sports Agency (2019). But it was during the 2020 confinement that he became known (a little) to the general public, and marked his return to the national scene. In spring 2020, Jean Castex took on the role of 'Mr deconfinement', the interministerial coordinator for the deconfinement strategy.
Born in 1961, son of a metalworker and a housekeeper, Éric Dupond-Moretti has dual nationality, Franco-Italian. His passions (hunting and bullfighting) are, like the man, controversial. Completely, he refused the Legion of Honor awarded to him in 2013.
Famous criminal lawyer, he is the new Minister of Justice and Minister of Justice, replacing Nicole Belloubet. Éric Dupond-Moretti took on the role of lawyer in 1984. A media figure, he is associated with the big names in French criminal cases. The one that some call “ acquittor », began his career in the industrial tribunal, then in official commissions before moving on to criminal pleadings. In 1993, he defended Valenciennes footballer Jacques Glassmann in the VA-OM affair. He became known through the Outreau affair in 2004. Two years later, he defended Jean Castela, considered to be the instigator of the assassination of the prefect of Corsica Claude Érignac. In 2009, he was Jérôme Kerviel's broker in the Société Générale affair. He will defend businessman Bernard Tapie, former minister Jérôme Cahuzac, the Balkany couple and Alexandre Djouhri in the context of the Sarkozy-Gaddafi affair, and the brother of Mohamed Merah. In 2020, he joined the international defense team of Julian Assange, the founder of Wikileaks. In 2019, he started doing theater, performing alone in Éric Dupond-Moretti at the helm.
Those who remain
Florence Parly (ex PS) in the Armed Forces
(Credit: SNCF)
Born in 1963, senior civil servant graduated from the ENA (Fernand Braudel promotion - 1985), Florence Parly joined the budget department at the Ministry of the Economy and Finance in 1987, and contributed to the technical implementation of the Minimum Income insertion (RMI). She left him in 1991 to become budgetary advisor to socialist minister Paul Quilès. She then passed through the ministerial offices of Michel Rocard and Pierre Bérégovoy, then returned to the budget department. In 1995, she joined the Socialist Party and, in 1997, joined Lionel Jospin's cabinet dealing with budgetary issues. She was promoted to Secretary of State for the Budget in 2000. She was only 37 years old. After the fall of the left in 2002, she tried her hand at local politics, and ran for legislative elections in Yonne. Wasted effort. Florence Parly then moved to the Burgundy regional council as vice-president, and also headed the Ile-de-France regional development agency.
In 2006, she began her career in the private sector, at Air France, where for eight years (2006-2014), she rose through the ranks. The group will entrust him with management of cargo, the branch with the heaviest losses. For four years, it carried out restructuring plans. His frank speaking and diplomacy make it possible to make social dialogue work. In 2014, as deputy general manager, in charge of short and medium haul, she left the company, after several disagreements over strategic choices. She joined SNCF, in charge of the group's strategy and finances. Since 2016, she has been general director of SNCF Voyageurs. She was appointed in June 2017 as Minister of Defense, after the resignation of Sylvie Goulard, over the affair of the Modem parliamentary assistants.
Jean-Yves Le Drian (ex PS) to Europe and Foreign Affairs
(credit: CUE)
Born in Lorient in 1947, Jean-Yves le Drian was a loyal supporter of former President François Hollande (PS) and one of those who joined Emmanuel Macron, advising in the shadows the man who was still only a candidate in the presidential election, and making its networks available to him. In 2017, he left the Hôtel de Brienne, headquarters of the Ministry of Defense, where he served an uninterrupted five-year mandate, very full and active, for the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs.
At the European level, it is one of the promoters of the realization of the European defense project. After the attacks of November 2015, he was the main instigator of the activation of the European solidarity clause, 42-7. He calls on Europeans to take their part in the effort. “ France cannot do everything » argues Jean-Yves Le Drian. “ Being at the same time in the Sahel, being at the same time in the Central African Republic, being in Lebanon and being in the intervention and responses in the Levant and in addition to ensuring by its own forces the security of the national territory. »
Clément Beaune (LREM), Secretary of State for European Affairs
(credit: Ministry of Action and Public Accounts)
Since 2017, he has been special advisor for Europe to Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée, he now replaces Amélie de Montchalin. Graduate of the Sciences Po Paris triptych (2000-2004), College of Europe (college of Bruges) in European administration and politics (2004-2005, Montesquieu promotion) and National School of Administration (2007-2009, Willy Brandt promotion), Clément Beaune is making a career between Europe and the budget. Before finishing his studies at ENA, he spent five months in London, at the Ministry of Finance, within the European Union Finance Team. He continues his momentum in the figures. He will spend three years at the Budget Directorate, first as deputy to the head of the finance law office then of the research and higher education office.
After that, he left for Matignon, in the office of Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault, between 2012 and 2014 he will be technical advisor to the Budget. He then moved to the Ministry of the Economy, to the position of European and budgetary affairs advisor, in the office of the Secretary of State for the Economy, Carole Delga. It’s a return to basics, combining Europe and figures. He will remain in Bercy with Emmanuel Macron, then minister, as advisor in charge of European, international and financial affairs. A brief detour into the private sector followed (2016-2017): he was deputy to the general director of ADP Management (formerly Aéroports de Paris). When Emmanuel Macron became president in May 2017, Clément Beaune followed him to the Élysée. He takes on the role of Europe and G20 advisor, before becoming its special advisor, Europe.
Gérald Darmanin (LREM, ex LR) at the Interior
(credit: Rights reserved, Twitter feed)
Born in 1982, he was re-elected mayor of Tourcoing (North) last week. Former Sarkozyste, he left Les Républicains (LR) for La République en Marche in 2017 after becoming Minister of Action and Public Accounts. Today he replaces Christophe Castaner at the Interior.
Lawyer and graduate of the Institute of Political Studies of Lille (2007), he began as a collaborator of Jacques Toubon (MEP) in 2005. He became chief of staff of David Douillet at the State Secretariat responsible for the French of the foreigner, then his chief of staff at the Ministry of Sports. He followed this with a political career. He won his first mandate as a local elected official a year later, in 2008, in Tourcoing, as a municipal councilor. He held the positions of councilor of the European metropolis of Lille (2008), regional councilor of Nord-Pas-de-Calais (2010) and deputy of the North (2012). In 2014, he became mayor of Tourcoing, and 4th vice president of the region.
He remains under investigation for rape, sexual harassment and breach of trust, after an appeal by the complainant deemed admissible on June 9, 2020, on the dismissal of the case pronounced in 2018.
And also
Bruno Le Maire remains Minister of the Economy, responsible for finances, but also recovers 'relaunch'. Among the delegated ministers, we also note the maintenance of Geneviève Darrieussecq who acquires the title of Minister Delegate in charge of Memory and Veterans. Marlene Schiappa (former Secretary of State for Gender Equality) becomes Minister Delegate to the Ministry of the Interior in charge of Citizenship. While Franck Riester (former Minister of Culture) moves to Foreign Trade. Another chair game for Amelie de Montchalin who rises in rank, going from Secretary of State for European Affairs to Minister of Transformation and the Civil Service.
Finally, note the return to politics of a former MEP (2004-2007) Roselyne Bachelot (ex UMP), appointed to Culture.
(Emmanuelle Stroesser, with NGV and AP)
Article updated on July 27, with the portrait of Clément Beaune following his appointment
