Is the fog that has surrounded government action since the adoption of the pension reform dissipated? The announcement on Monday of the appointment of a new chief of staff at Matignon was interpreted as a confirmation of Elisabeth Borne in her functions. Although the Elysee remains silent, before a public expression of the head of state expected this week ahead of his departure, Sunday, to Oceania.
Jean-Denis Combrexelle, until then Chief of Staff of the Minister of Justice Éric Dupond-Moretti, will occupy the same function rue de Varenne. He replaces Aurélien Rousseau, who wanted to take off. "I leave Matignon, a magnificent house, heart of the State and 'terminus of trouble'," wrote the latter on Twitter, evoking his "pride" to have served Elisabeth Borne "in one of those moments when democracy needs the strength of the republican state". The difficult search for a successor has contributed in recent weeks to feed the narrative of a weakened head of government. Against a backdrop of insistent rumors of a major reshuffle, and a political offensive by Gérald Darmanin.
"Takeover of Matignon"
Jean-Denis Combrexelle is a "perfect connoisseur of the State, recognized specialist in social and sovereign issues," welcomed the Prime Minister in a statement, while the response to the recent urban riots, the prospect of an immigration law and the search for full employment are the main projects that await the executive. Director General of Labour for eight years between 2006 and 2014, he was the author of a report on the reform of the Labour Code, submitted in 2015 to Manuel Valls. "This is a signal sent to the social partners," said a person familiar with the government. The official was also asked by Jean Castex to ensure the proper conduct of the last presidential election in the face of Covid. He remained close to the former prime minister. State Councilor, it is an "example of republican meritocracy" who "spent his youth in a popular district of Nancy," said Elisabeth Borne Monday.
Despite the difficulties related to the absence of an absolute majority in the National Assembly, "I am not sure that he will have a very political practice of the job but there will be no errors of piping," wants to believe an adviser to the executive. "He is someone technically solid but it says nothing about the duration of the whole," he notes, noting that at 69, the senior civil servant has nothing to lose by accepting to serve Elisabeth Borne. Another appointment has been recorded. To head the interior pole, the former prefect Étienne Stoskopf was chosen. "There is a takeover of Matignon and the people who arrive are not second knives," observes a Macronist adviser of the first hour. "It doesn't mean there won't be a reshuffle, but it will be technical," he said.
Ministers invited to the Elysee Palace on Tuesday evening
Regarding a possible change at Matignon, "no doubt we are now postponed to the beginning of September", abounds another government adviser, while the long prevarications of Emmanuel Macron make more unlikely a great upheaval in the torpor of the summer. The ministers and their spouses are also invited to a dinner at the Elysee Palace on Tuesday evening, RTL revealed. A tradition before the summer break that takes on a different dimension this year.
So many signs that "sound like a first but discreet confirmation of the prime minister," says one ministry. "We shouldn't expect much more. As has been the case since May 2022, this five-year term is disjointed and is built as a multiplication of fixed-term contracts, "says the same interlocutor. If a reshuffle was held this week, however, some now imagine it to be small. Very far from the expectation caused by the "100 days of appeasement" decreed by Emmanuel Macron in April, at the end of which he promised to make a political "assessment". For the head of state, who will not be able to run for a third term in 2027, "sailing by sight" amounts to "keeping each other short" and "maintaining pressure" on his ministers, analyzes within the executive.