While the last Council of Ministers of the first five-year term took place on Wednesday, no one yet knows with certainty the political personality who will be chosen by the President of the Republic.
Elisabeth Borne
The current Ministry of Labor holds the rope more than ever. On Tuesday, she was in the front row of the Renaissance candidates gathered in Aubervilliers to listen to Emmanuel Macron’s mobilization speech. All the walking leaders, Jean Castex in the lead, came to greet her one by one. A way to congratulate her in anticipation? At 61, this polytechnician is supported by Alexis Kohler, the powerful secretary general of the Elysée. In addition, the former chief of staff of Ségolène Royal (who does not carry her in her heart) ticks all the boxes mentioned by the re-elected president: a woman, on the left, a little green, with a social touch. It has, moreover, carried out difficult reforms in the past mandate (SNCF, unemployment insurance). Unpolitical, she decided to take the plunge. She is a candidate for the succession of deputy Alain Tourret in Calvados.
Audrey Azoulay
The former Minister of Culture of François Hollande, now patroness of Unesco, is the latest name to stir up the political microcosm. This 49-year-old enarque (same promotion as Alexis Kohler) knows Emmanuel Macron well, for whom she was a colleague in François Hollande’s cabinet and in the government. A woman of culture, this senior civil servant has no political experience. After the election of Emmanuel Macron in 2017, she had hoped to return to rue de Valois before trying her luck successfully at the head of Unesco.
Marisol Touraine
It was enough for Emmanuel Macron to greet her warmly last Saturday during the investiture ceremony at the Elysée Palace for the rumor of an appointment of Marisol Touraine to Matignon to swell immediately. At 63, this former Minister of Health (for 5 years) under François Hollande has a long political experience: Member of Parliament for ten years; General Councilor of the Indre et Loire department, which she chaired between 2011 and 2012. Daughter of sociologist Alain Touraine, she was an early activist in the PS and followed in the footsteps of Michel Rocard and then those of DSK before supporting François Hollande. Very supported by eminent members of Macronie (Gabriel Attal at the head who was his adviser), she rallied the President of the Republic. According to those around her, she received no sign from the Elysée.
Anne of Bayser
This 53-year-old senior official, who was secretary general of the Elysée from May 2017 to November 2020, is the other name circulating for Matignon. The former adviser to Bertrand Delanoë knows Macronie well from the inside and is therefore used to working with Alex Kohler, secretary general of the Elysée. Lacking political experience, she approached Roland Lescure, LREM deputy and president of the economic commission during the campaign to lead the “civil society group”.