Elisabeth Borne on probation. Since the adoption of the highly controversial pension reform through the use of Article 49-3 of the Constitution, the post of Prime Minister seems more fragile than ever.
Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly reaffirmed his confidence in the tenant of Matignon and swept away the hypothesis of an imminent reshuffle, but the rumors continue to go well. Indeed, the “100 days” of appeasement announced by the President of the Republic resemble, for several experts, a countdown before the replacement of the head of government, which could thus occur in July.
In Macronie as elsewhere, the personalities to be eyeing on the post are thus numerous. Gérald Darmanin, Bruno Le Maire, Sébastien Lecornu or, more surprisingly, Nicolas Sarkozy, several politicians seem inclined to move to Matignon. But lately, as L’Opinion explains, it’s a new name that seems to be circulating between the walls of the Elysée, that of a former minister particularly appreciated by the head of state, Julien Denormandie.
Since the beginning of En Marche!, he has followed Emmanuel Macron. For nearly 8 years, he served alongside him, first as deputy chief of staff at Bercy, then, after the 2017 presidential election, as deputy minister for housing and then minister for agriculture.
Finally, to everyone’s surprise, he left the government in 2022 after the re-election of the head of state. “It’s the choice of the heart: I’ve missed my family too much and I’ve missed them too much. It’s now to her that I want to devote most of my energy.”, he justified in a press release published on Twitter, reports Le Journal du Dimanche.
However, a return of Julien Denormandie to the government seems to be a more than likely scenario, because he would be one of the “darlings” of the President of the Republic.
Emmanuel Macron and Julien Denormandie have known each other for several years. According to Ouest-France, they would have met when the current head of state was deputy secretary general of the Elysée, from 2012 to 2014. The two men would be particularly close since, as affirmed by Senator François Patriat, the President of the Republic considers his peer as his own son, despite their four-year age difference, reports RMC.
The parliamentarian even admitted that Emmanuel Macron had confided “it’s my baby”, speaking of Julien Denormandie. This proximity could thus help the latter to access Matignon as part of a reshuffle. In 2022, when the new government was put together, his name was already circulating actively.
“Denormandie wants Matignon.” This is what someone close to the Elysée Palace confided to our colleagues from RTL in April 2022. While an influential walker did not dry up his praises, saying that “It’s the perfect mix between decision-making and management of the ‘stewardship”.
In the entourage of Emmanuel Macron, the predictions were then going well, since one of his advisers affirmed in the columns of Paris-Match: “Macron will finish his second term with Julien at Matignon!”.
In March 2023, Julien Denormandie did not put an end to the rumors. Asked by the agricultural website Réussir about a possible return to government, he replied: “Joker!”.
