Almost a month after his re-election, Emmanuel Macron announced the appointment of Elisabeth Borne, former Minister of Transport, to succeed Jean Castex. It took five more days for Alexis Kohler, secretary general of the Elysée, to announce the 27 names of the women and men who make up the Borne government.
Few have kept the place they occupied when Jean Castex was at Matignon. Only three ministers were reappointed. It is :
They are not, however, irreplaceable. Both their place and that of the 25 other members of the government, Elisabeth Borne included, is threatened by the legislative elections.
The legislative elections will be the big meeting not to be missed for the candidate ministers. Emmanuel Macron was clear: all the members of the government who stand in the legislative elections have no other solution than to win if they want to keep their ministerial post.
The Elysée has therefore “decided to maintain the instructions already issued by Emmanuel Macron five years ago, and inherited from Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007”, as Le Figaro points out. In 2017, there were only six concerned.
Which members of the government will put their jobs on the line on June 12 and 19?
Among the 28 members of the Borne government, 15 are standing in the legislative elections on 12th and 19th June next. This means that they will be as many to put their place in government in the hands of the voters of their constituency.
They will be only two to seek a post of deputy for the first time. They are Clément Beaune, Minister Delegate in charge of Europe, and… Elisabeth Borne. The Prime Minister could therefore leave her place to Matignon from the month of June.
As for the 13 other members of the government, they are all candidates for their own succession.
In addition to this instruction from Emmanuel Macron, certain legal cases could also lead to the ousting of certain members of the government.
Damien Abad, new Minister of Solidarity, Autonomy and People with Disabilities is accused of two rapes dating back to 2010 and 2011. A case revealed by Mediapart less than 24 hours after his appointment.
If he says he is innocent and does not plan to resign, the new head of government remains cautious: “Obviously I was not aware. I will be very clear on these subjects, there can be no impunity, we must continue to act so that women who are victims of assault or harassment can file a complaint”, reports Le Figaro. “If there are new elements, that justice is again seized, we will draw all the consequences of this decision.”
