It's not for lack of trying. When the new Minister Julien Denormandie approaches his predecessor in Agriculture, Tuesday, he warns him: "We don't have the right to shake hands" . He has not finished his sentence when he finds himself in the arms of Didier Guillaume. "Here we have the right to everything," replied the outgoing minister. "To everything" , in defiance of barrier gestures.
Theaters of warm exchanges, the transfers of power between the old and new ministers of Jean Castex, Tuesday, sometimes resembled the ceremonies before the coronavirus crisis. Leaving Bercy, the now Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin did not hold his pat on the back of Bruno Le Maire, still at the Economy. At the Ministry of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti couldn't help but kiss his moved predecessor Nicole Belloubet. "Avoid hugs" , however warns the official message from Public Health France, which recalls that "the virus is still there" .
Bruno Le Maire and Gérald Darmanin at the Ministry of the Economy and Finance, in Paris, on July 7, 2020. ERIC PIERMONT / AFP
Elbow set
The passing of witnesses to the Ministry of the City, Monday evening, particularly disregarded the sanitary rules. Small room, dozens of employees without masks ... " You don't respect safety distances enough, " warned Julien Denormandie, alongside his successor Nadia Hai. “ We are in a ministry and we must respect them, here or elsewhere. "Later, in front of the BFMTV cameras, the minister was embarrassed: " We must respect the barrier gestures, and when that was not the case, this is not an example to follow " .
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Some of his colleagues, however, managed to comply with health precautions. Smiles and outstretched hands between Roselyne Bachelot and Franck Riester at Culture. Kisses at a distance between Annick Girardin and Sébastien Lecornu at the Overseas Ministry ... At the government's spokesperson, Sibeth Ndiaye and Gabriel Attal preferred to indulge in a game of elbows, a new way of greeting each other in post France -confinement.
