Emmanuel Macron loves a coup de grace and he has certainly given it by appointing the youngest prime minister in history, Gabriel Attal, and handing over the significant portfolio of Culture to Rachida Dati, former minister of Sarkozy and very media figure of the right
The head of state’s bold bets are risky. The objective is clear: to relaunch a presidency in difficulties and stop the advance of the extreme right before the European elections in June. But the political cost of the operation can be high.
The most obvious thing is that the supporters of the Head of State continue without an absolute majority in the National Assembly. This mortgages the government’s action. Instead of trying to reach an agreement for the rest of the legislature – until the spring of 2027 – with The Republicans (LR, traditional right), Macron has preferred to strengthen the presence of conservative ministers (8 out of 14) and sign Dati. In LR they were outraged. Its president, Éric Ciotti, accused Macron of using “a method of poaching” and announced the expulsion of Dati, for defecting.
The unrest is also real, although less open, in the Macronist ranks, especially in the left wing, which has lost several ministers. The leaders of parties allied to the president, such as François Bayrou, of the Democratic Movement (MoDem), did not take kindly to the appointment of Attal, as they attribute to him insufficient experience for the position. The ministers of Economy, Bruno Le Maire, and of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, both with great ambitions, were not very happy either, and they hid it badly. Jealousy is always corrosive, also in politics.
Dati, 58, seems to be in his element suddenly being the star of the new Executive. His unexpected appointment has raised the eyebrows of many. “He has zero legitimacy for culture, of which he knows nothing”, a disgruntled Macronist confessed to the newspaper Le Parisien, anonymously. The main problem, however, is not so much the technical suitability as the pending legal case. Since July 2021, the new minister has been indicted for alleged corruption and passive influence peddling. In her case, an obscure income of 900,000 euros is being investigated that she received as a lawyer for the Renault-Nissan group within the financial triads at the Swiss subsidiary of the automotive group that was her boss at the time, Carlos Ghosn.
In recent years, Dati has been the aggressive head of the opposition in the Paris City Council and, as such, Anne Hidalgo’s black beast. After learning that Dati would be minister, the mayor launched a venomous tweet: “I wish good luck to the actors in the world of culture, taking into account the tests they have to overcome”.
The head of the ministry founded by André Malraux in 1959 did not disappoint in the transfer of powers. She felt star-struck, but she waited patiently for her predecessor, Rima Abdul-Malak, to politely vent her anger at Macron for kicking her out (over her opposition to immigration law and her censure of the actor Gérard Depardieu, accused of sexual abuse). Abdul-Malak deplored “the curse” of a ministry in which its holders do not last more than two years.
When it was his turn, Dati showed his unassumingness and self-confidence. “I understand that my appointment may have come as a surprise”, he said, before taking a studied stage break. “I am not surprised – he continued -. It responds to a real need, the need of France often called popular, sometimes with a bit of disdain, which must feel represented”. The message was clear. She, the embodiment of Sarkozy’s right, sees herself, due to her humble origins – Maghreb parents, 11 siblings, social housing – as a representative of the popular classes, an example of republican meritocracy. In this area, in fact, it can be a useful weapon against the extreme right, as Sarkozy was, in his time, to stop Le Pen. About his new mission, Dati promised that it would be combative but with limits. “Don’t be afraid,” he joked.
Another interesting transfer of power happened at the Quai d’Orsay, headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Catherine Colonna handed over the testimony to Stéphane Séjourné, 38, until now MEP and general secretary of Renaixement, the Macronist party. After being appointed, the interested party made it known that his legal union with Attal, as a common-law partner, had been dissolved two years ago. It was important to avoid the shadow of nepotism.
In the first Council of Ministers, Macron asked for “solidarity and speed” to achieve “efficiency”. The new Cabinet met in a room and with a smaller table than usual. It was necessary to show that the top of the State has been simplified, a controversial decision because two essential ministries have been cancelled, Health (absorbed by Labor) and Education (merged with Sports and the Olympic Games). Doctors, nurses and teachers have been perplexed. Effect shots are not guaranteed success.
