The new head of government takes his marks with a circumspect majority towards him. The day after a reception for parliamentarians LREM, MoDem and Agir in the gardens of Matignon, Jean Castex continued after-sales service on Tuesday during the group meeting of the presidential movement. "I am now part of the family," he said to 80 deputies present, while 60 others followed the meeting remotely. And one noticed absence: Richard Ferrand.
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Behind the usual applause, an elected official found that he had been received "freshly" while a history of the presidential campaign already evokes a "spleen Philippe". "There is no distrust, but no enthusiasm either , " he says. MEPs “are waiting to be convinced. But we got to the heart of the matter on how he intended to work with us, and I found him excellent, ” says Anne-Christine Lang, member of the left wing.
The day before, Jean Castex had resolutely decided to invest in the animation of the majority. An exercise that his predecessor had little taste for. "The Prime Minister is the leader of the majority, not his corporal," launched the man who just returned his card from the Republicans. He praised the "unity" of the majority, prior to that of the nation. And due, these last weeks were marked by a disintegration of the macronist block, via the creation of two new parliamentary groups and the constitution, within LREM, of the association In common which federates the elected representatives resulting from the left. Jean Castex therefore knows that he will have to reconnect with disillusioned parliamentarians.
"Progressive misalignment"
Unfortunately, the appointment of the new government does not make it easy. The overturning of the table did not happen, worse, the Sarkozy right made the headlines. The appointment of three LREM deputies - Barbara Pompili, Brigitte Bourguignon and Nadia Hai - did not calm a group awaiting recognition where a plethora of deputies had recently sent notes to the Élysée. “The strategic folding seats are all occupied by LRs, it's very difficult for the majority to digest. The strategy of increasing occupation of the center right is shifted to the heart of the right, the progressive misalignment of the line prevents balance. We have gone from going beyond to erasure, ” worries an LREM manager, who is waiting for “ proofs of love ” from the new host of Matignon. Nonetheless, the Prime Minister announced that the bioethics law - which includes the extension of the PMA to female couples - will be passed by the end of the month as part of an extraordinary session. A way of reassuring the former socialists, very attentive to the adoption of this cleavage text.
The enthusiasm is no more demonstrative among the majority partners. While the Prime Minister was disserting before the LREM deputies, the president of the MoDem group, Patrick Mignola, wrote to him inviting him to spend a head at the meeting of the group of centrists. The lack of response has cooled the MoDem, which did not obtain an additional ministry during the reshuffle despite a parliamentary balance of power which worked in its favor.
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And what about Agir? After close discussions, its president, Franck Riester, became Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade under the tutelage of Jean-Yves Le Drian when he was Minister of Culture - full service - since 2018. The party of The Juppeist inspiration therefore awaits the appointment of the Secretaries of State at the end of the week. Until then, the center right questions the relevance of the change of prime minister while the political line does not differ. Beyond the first contacts and a half-hearted reshuffle, the Prime Minister's general policy speech - on July 15 - is awaited at the turn by members who are still trying to clarify the political course chosen by the executive.