Emmanuel Macron should appoint his MoDem ally François Bayrou to the post of High Commissioner for Planning during the Council of Ministers on September 3, we learned Thursday August 27 from concordant sources, confirming information from the Parisian .
Read also: How François Bayrou negotiated his post of High Commissioner for Planning
When questioned, the Élysée did not confirm this appointment which is expected. At the beginning of July, the president's entourage indicated that the possible return of François Bayrou to the government as High Commissioner for Planning, also mentioned by Jean Castex, would be an " obvious political gain ". A planning commission could enlighten public action in the long term and fulfill a coordinating role for the various aspects of the recovery plan (economic, social, environmental, territorial, cultural), according to the same source.
The president of the Modem, one of the closest unofficial advisers to the head of state and key support during his campaign, would mark his official return to the executive, which he had to leave in 2017 after 'a month. 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 ".
A volunteer position
François Bayrou should exercise the function of High Commissioner for Planning on a voluntary basis and remain mayor of Pau. According to Le Parisien , the President of the Republic and Prime Minister Jean Castex have come to an agreement in recent days, after " last phone calls with Bayrou ".
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 indicated on Friday that the head of state had offered him the post. “ I have always thought that for the Planning Commission to have the necessary influence, an experienced political figure had to be able to stick to it. I wasn't thinking of myself at all , ”he told La République des Pyrénées . “ I have discussed this necessity a lot for months with the President of the Republic. He said to me, "That's a good idea. Why wouldn't you do it yourself? You've thought about it and you fit the composite ." The post of high commissioner was created after the war by General de Gaulle for the reconstruction of the country before disappearing.