This is the consequence of his narrow defeat on Sunday evening.
Defeated by 56 votes in the constituency of Pas-de-Calais by the RN candidate Christine Engrand, the Minister of Health Brigitte Bourguignon announced this Monday her departure from the government on her Twitter account.
"I will leave the Government and my functions as Minister of Health and Prevention," she wrote, adding "to take note" of her defeat.
I put all my strength into it against the extreme right.
Given this result, I will leave the Government and my duties as Minister of Health and Prevention.
I want to thank the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister for their trust.
— Brigitte Bourguignon (@BrigBourguignon) June 20, 2022
Brigitte Bourguignon thus obtained 49.94% of the vote, although she came first in the first round with 32.1%, against 30.3% for her opponent from the National Rally, who was ultimately victorious, Christine Engrand.
“The unprecedented breakthrough of the extreme right is a reality.
The Republican front is dangerously challenged, ”adds Brigitte Bourguignon, facing the 89 deputies obtained by the National Rally.
This tacit rule, introduced in 2007 by then Prime Minister François Fillon, forces ministers defeated in legislative elections to leave their posts.
“Frankly, the logic is that when you are beaten, it means that you do not have the support of the people and that you cannot remain in government”, he said in 2007.
Brigitte Bourguignon, 63, replaced last May the one who was until then his minister, Olivier Véran, at the Ministry of Health, and had notably been in the foreground during the heat wave which affected France this week.
His express visit to the Ministry of Health will have barely given him time to announce "first measures" (such as overtime paid double), in the hope of ending the shortage of caregivers at the hospital, before a "difficult" summer by his own admission.
Two other ministers beaten
Brigitte Bourguignon will not be alone in having to leave her post in government.
The Secretary of State for the Sea, Justine Benin, was also beaten in the 2nd constituency of Guadeloupe, obtaining only 41.35% of the vote.
She was preceded by the various left candidate and supported by the Nupes Christian Baptiste.
Just like the future ex-Minister of Ecological Transition Amélie de Montchalin, defeated by the candidate Nupes Jérôme Guedj in the sixth constituency of Essonne.
She won 46.64% of the vote.
Amélie de Montchalin had been propelled to the sixth ceremonial place of the government, when she was appointed.
A new phase of reorganization is therefore beginning, in two stages.
First with the replacement of the three ministers, then with an enlargement to the rest of the government.