Emmanuel Macron loves coups and without a doubt he has given it by appointing the youngest prime minister in history, Gabriel Attal, and handing over the colorful Culture portfolio to Rachida Dati, Sarkozy’s former minister and a very media figure on the right. .
The bold bets of the head of state 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. That undermines the government’s action. Instead of trying to reach an agreement for the remainder of the legislature – until spring 2027 – with The Republicans (LR, traditional right), Macron has preferred to reinforce the presence of conservative ministers (8 out of 14) and sign Dati. In LR they have been outraged. Its president, Éric Ciotti, accused Macron of using “a method of poaching” and announced the expulsion of Dati, for being a traitor.
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 view Attal’s appointment favorably, blaming him for insufficient experience for the position. The Ministers of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, and the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, both with great ambitions, were not very happy either, and they hid it poorly. Jealousy is always corrosive, also in politics.
Dati, 58, seems in her element, suddenly being the star of the new Executive. Her unexpected appointment has raised many eyebrows. “She has zero legitimacy for culture, of which she knows nothing,” a disgruntled Macronist confessed to the newspaper Le Parisien, anonymously. The main problem, however, is not so much technical suitability as the pending legal case. Since July 2021, the new minister has been accused of alleged corruption and passive influence peddling. In her case, an obscure income of 900,000 euros that she received as a lawyer for the Renault-Nissan group is being investigated as part of the financial dealings in the Swiss subsidiary of the automobile group carried out by her then employer, Carlos Ghosn.
Dati has been the aggressive head of the opposition in the Paris City Council in recent years and, as such, Anne Hidalgo’s bête noire. After hearing the news that Dati would be a minister, the mayor launched a poisonous tweet: “I wish good luck to the actors in the world of culture, taking into account the tests they must overcome.”
The head of the ministry founded by André Malraux in 1959 did not disappoint in the transfer of powers. She felt like the star but waited patiently for her predecessor, Rima Abdul-Malak, to politely vent her bad temper against Macron for having fired her (for her opposition to the 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 his turn came, Dati showed his self-confidence and self-confidence. “I understand that my appointment may have been surprising,” he said, before taking a studied stage break. “She doesn’t surprise me,” he continued. It responds to a real need, the need of France often called popular, sometimes with a bit of contempt, which must feel represented.” The message was clear. She, the incarnation of Sarkozy’s right, sees herself, due to her humble origins – North African parents, 11 siblings, social housing – as a representative of the popular classes, an example of republican meritocracy. In that field, in fact, she can be a useful weapon against the extreme right, as Sarkozy was, in her time, to stop Le Pen. Regarding her new mission, Dati promised that she would be combative but with limits. “Don’t be afraid,” she joked.
Another interesting transfer of power occurred at the Quai d’Orsay, headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Catherine Colonna passed the baton to Stéphane Séjourné, 38, until now an MEP and general secretary of Renaissance, the Macronist party. After being appointed, the interested party made it known that his legal union with Attal, as a de facto couple, was dissolved two years ago. It was important to avoid the shadow of nepotism.
In the first Council of Ministers, Macron called for “solidarity and speed” to achieve “effectiveness.” The new Cabinet met in a room and with a smaller table than usual. It had to be shown that the leadership of the State has been simplified, a controversial decision because two essential ministries have been annulled, Health (absorbed by Labor) and Education (merged with Sports and the Olympic Games). Doctors, nurses and teachers have been perplexed. Hits are not guaranteed success.