European Commission: Behind the scenes of the departure of Thierry Breton, replaced by Stéphane Séjourné

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Arthur de Laborde / Photo credit: KENZO TRIBOUILLARD / AFP

Thierry Breton, European Commissioner for Foreign Trade, resigned on Monday, pushed out by Ursula Von der Leyen, the President of the Commission. For his part, Emmanuel Macron preferred the portfolio proposed by Brussels to France rather than supporting Jacques Chirac’s former minister.

Emmanuel Macron has given in to Ursula Von der Leyen’s blackmail. At the end of July, the head of state had decided to reappoint Thierry Breton as European Commissioner for Foreign Trade for five years. But the latter resigned with a bang on Monday, pushed out by the German President of the European Commission with whom he had a rather tense relationship.

Ursula Von der Leyen presented her new team of 27 commissioners on Tuesday, including Stéphane Séjourné, the resigning Minister of Foreign Affairs, proposed by Emmanuel Macron, who has obtained the Industrial Strategy portfolio. So Thierry Breton, who had not hesitated to publicly contradict and criticize Ursula Von der Leyen, is out.

A faithful among the faithful

The latter nevertheless gave the green light for Paris to obtain an executive vice-presidency and therefore, in theory, more influence within the European organization. But on one condition: that the position does not go to the former Chirac minister. In other words, Emmanuel Macron preferred the portfolio proposed by Brussels rather than supporting Thierry Breton.

To replace him, he has chosen a loyalist among the loyalists. Stéphane Séjourné will be in charge of the recovery of European industry, but not of the highly strategic portfolio of the defense industry. Not known for his mastery of economic issues, the current head of French diplomacy has the advantage of being close to Ursula von der Leyen.

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