"Above all, don't say that he is a techno! On the contrary, he is a man of dialogue and of field, ”exclaims a close friend of Jean Castex. At 55, the new Prime Minister - even more unknown than Edouard Philippe when he was appointed to Matignon in 2017 - displays the panoply of the perfect senior civil servant. Right-wing man, Philippe Séguin-style social Gaullist tendency, he has discreet politics. Enarque passed by the Court of Auditors, he occupied many high functions of the State, but always on the dark side, as at the Elysée, of which he was assistant secretary general under Nicolas Sarkozy, or in the cabinet of Xavier Bertrand at the Ministry of Health, then Work.
His last post in date, that of "Monsieur déconfinement" of the government, could however have propelled him into full light, like a Jérôme Salomon, director general of Health become one of the faces of the crisis of Covid -19. "He is not his type, he is not looking for light ... he will have to learn to communicate", continues the Catalan friend who rubs shoulders with him in Paris as in Prades (Pyrénées-Orientales), the small town of which Jean Castex is mayor (LR… until his resignation from the party this Friday morning July 3) since 2008.
A “sense of the collective and the general interest”
To hear the praise coming from various political sides, one would think that the only fault of the impetrant in Matignon is not to be a woman. "A real Swiss Army Knife", according to those who rubbed shoulders with him in his various positions, where he made state authorities work together, local elected representatives, trade unionists ... "A perfect connoisseur of the machinery of the State, who can speak to deep France ”, boasts Claude Guéant, former right-hand man of Sarkozy who worked with Castex. "With him, there will be a connection to the realities of the territories, he is a man of listening and proximity, constructive," reacted hot on France Info Carole Delga, socialist president of the Occitania region ... before moderating her enthusiasm in an official statement.
VIDEO. Who is Jean Castex, the new Prime Minister?
The boss PS of the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, Stéphane Troussel, does not have these partisan modesty. "What an incredible story, it's impressive!" he rejoices. I had no contact with Edouard Philippe, this time I will have a direct line with Matignon. I really enjoy interacting with him, we have always had frank and courteous relations ”.
The two men have collaborated since Jean Castex, passionate about rugby and tennis, was appointed interministerial delegate to the Olympic Games, on the evening of the award of the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris: the "9-3" will host several events and important facilities, including the aquatic center and the Olympic village, will be built there.
I enjoyed working with Jean Castex on the 2024 Games, in listening, clarity and frankness. If his role as #PremierMinistre leads him to pursue the right-wing policy led by E. Macron I will be able to challenge it with the same frankness https://t.co/1V9a4Qz9u3
- Stéphane Troussel (@StephanTroussel) July 3, 2020From the outset, the “Mr. JO” collided with a cactus. A report by the General Inspectorate of Finance points to possible budgetary slippages, and we must convince elected representatives of Ile-de-France to review their copy. "We were all ready to climb the curtain," says Stéphane Troussel. Jean, by his sense of the collective and the general interest, by his way of reconciling points of view, led everyone to take responsibility. ”
An enarch who "returns the cows to the stable"
Originally from Gers, he kept his accent, Jean Castex spent holidays, as a child, in Cerdanya to treat his asthma. He learns Catalan, settles after his marriage in Prades, at the foot of Canigou, where he and his wife live with his four daughters. "I have rarely seen an enarque bring the cows into the barn, be yours and yours with the people here as with the powerful in Paris, in all sincerity," said a neighbor. Others believe that he is overplaying this anchorage, manages the city with text messages. If he conquered the town hall in this land of the left, he failed in the 2017 legislative elections against a PS candidate.
Political Newsletter
Every day, the political news seen by Le ParisienI'm registering
Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more
VIDEO. Appointment of Jean Castex: “Stop looking at Matignon, and look at the Élysée! "
Isn't this "discreet" who has never been a minister a blessing-yes-yes in the shadow of Emmanuel Macron? "A senior civil servant, but cash with very clear ideas, who never let himself be impressed by the minister that I was", Xavier Bertrand recently told us about him.
The president of the Hauts-de-France region, Macron's rival for 2022, has maliciously tweeted: "I know and I appreciate the qualities of a servant of the state of Jean Castex ... May they correct the bad choices of the president of the Republic ".
I know and appreciate the qualities of a state servant of @JeanCASTEX. They will be essential in the difficult times that we are going to know ... May they correct the poor choices of the President of the Republic. #reworking
- Xavier Bertrand (@xavierbertrand) July 3, 2020
