Emmanuel Macron confirmed on Friday August 28 that he would appoint his Modem ally François Bayrou to the post of High Commissioner for Planning and Foresight during the Council of Ministers on September 3.
Read also: François Bayrou appointed High Commissioner for Planning on September 3
" We need to find a sense of the long term, " pleaded the President of the Republic to the Presidential Press Association. " We obviously need to manage the crisis on a daily basis, to sow the seeds for tomorrow, this is what France Relance is going to put in place with a massive investment ", developed the Head of State, referring to the plan of economic stimulus presented the same day. " But we also need to have, at the service of the president and the government, a body that reflects on the longer term and with fewer constraints, knowing the country ".
François Bayrou " has thought about it a lot, he has also written himself on this subject ", " it is a conviction that he carries ", argued Macron. " It's anything but a consolation prize, it is an important responsibility " and " I will write his mission letter myself ", added the president, welcoming the " experience " of the former minister and locally elected, “ great political leader ” and “ convinced European ”.
At the beginning of July, the president's entourage had indicated that a return of François Bayrou to the government would be an " obvious political gain ".
The president of the Modem, one of the closest unofficial advisers to the Head of State and key support during his campaign, will mark his official return to the executive, which he had to leave in 2017 after 'a month.
Indicted
Appointed Minister of Justice at the start of the five-year term, he had to resign due to an investigation into alleged fictitious jobs of the Modem in the European Parliament, for which he was indicted on December 6 for " complicity in the embezzlement of public funds ".
François Bayrou should exercise the function of High Commissioner for Planning on a voluntary basis and remain mayor of Pau.
The good understanding of the two men does not exclude friction, as during the reshuffle in July. François Bayrou finally obtained the retention of the three MoDem ministers Marc Fesneau, Jacqueline Gourault and Geneviève Darrieussecq.
After weeks of waiting for a possible appointment, François Bayrou had publicly announced last Friday that the head of state had offered him the post. The post of high commissioner was created after the war by General de Gaulle for the reconstruction of the country before disappearing.
