Reshuffle: Olivier Véran confirmed at the head of a large ministry ranging from health to pensions

Long unknown beyond health circles, Olivier Véran has become in three months one of the favorite political figures of the French: the young Grenoble neurologist has climbed to the charts of the most popular political figures ... Two points behind Nicolas Sarkozy, in the latest Kantar-OnePoint barometer from Figaro Magazine . Within the government, only Bruno Le Maire did better, but he came before Le Drian, Darmanin or Blanquer ... Arriving only in 12th place in the government, he nevertheless retained his broad social ministry ranging from health to pensions in going through the fight against poverty. He will be supported by LREM MP Brigitte Bourguignon, former president of the Social Affairs Committee, who becomes Minister Delegate for Autonomy.

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Appointed Minister of Health and Solidarity in February, not even 40 years old, after the hasty departure of Agnes Buzyn for the municipal elections, he put on the suit in record time. When the coronavirus tsunami falls, it takes the helm, managing the controversy over masks and screening tests, the organization of hospitals, the debate on hydroxychloroquine and the tracing of COVID patients, etc. This does not prevent him from being targeted by a complaint to the Court of Justice of the Republic for "abstention from fighting a disaster" (which would in theory earn him 2 years in prison and a € 30,000 fine if the sentence was pronounced), like Édouard Philippe and Agnès Buzyn.

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Tireless, this father of two, is on all fronts. The deconfinement barely started, he announced the creation of a fifth branch of Social Security to finance the dependence of the elderly. Then he hired the "Ségur de la Santé" to upgrade the remuneration of caregivers and give substance to the presidential promise of a "massive health plan" . With the will to extinguish the fire that has been brewing for 18 months at the public hospital. Deemed " direct ", " accessible ", " effective " by medical circles who have known him for a long time, his profile combining social concern and concern for public spending is an asset to bring these difficult negotiations to a successful conclusion.

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Son of a computer engineer and an English teacher, he established himself by his very good command of technical files and a real political sense. " Olivier Véran was obvious to everyone, he had already been approached as minister in 2017, he knew all the files, he was at all meetings, I had him on the phone all the time, he knows the ministry as his pocket, ”said Agnes Buzyn herself, during her hearing by the COVID committee of inquiry. Worker, determined, ready to fight and stand up to the executive to obtain his arbitrations, the young man in a hurry did not arrive there by chance. The former organizer of medical student parties very quickly caught the political bug, as president of the union of interns first, before becoming a socialist deputy in 2012 thanks to the appointment to the research ministry of Geneviève Fioraso, of whom he was the substitute. He was appointed rapporteur for the Social Security budget in 2014 and for the Marisol Touraine health bill the same year. The young PS deputy delivers a remarkable report on the financing of the hospital (where he makes a nuanced criticism of the pricing for the activity). Mobilized against nutritional disorders, it imposed the "soda tax" and made it compulsory to display "Nutriscore" in the food industry.

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In 2017, he fed into Emmanuel Macron's campaign program on health, and was re-elected deputy for Isère under the label En Marche. A good technician, thinking quickly, knowing the mysteries of power, he imposes himself as a heavyweight in front of neophyte Macron deputies. He quickly took on responsibilities within the group: rapporteur for the Social Security budget, but also for part of the bioethics law and the organic bill on pension reform. It is also there that, while married to a gynecologist-obstetrics doctor from Grenoble, he meets the one who now shares his life, the LREM deputy from Hérault Coralie Dubost, as he revealed in Paris Match . His (rare) detractors considered him " uncontrollable " with a " young crazy dog " side. Her freedom of tone and energy have paid off.