Emmanuel Macron has “the wish for a female appointment to Matignon”, declared Clément Beaune, the Secretary of State for European Affairs. Several names are already circulating.
The President of the Republic gave Cergy some clues on Wednesday to the identity of the future Prime Minister, indicating that he will be “attached to the social, environmental and productive question”. Several female politicians could fit this profile.
The name of Elisabeth Borne, current Minister of Labour, has been circulating for several weeks. Coming from the left, she notably frequented the offices of Lionel Jospin and Ségolène Royal. Successively Minister of Transport, Ecological Transition and then Labour, she gained the confidence of the President of the Republic by leading the reform of the SNCF and that of unemployment insurance.
However, Elisabeth Borne’s candidacy has shortcomings. The Minister has never exercised an elected mandate and does not really embody the renewal desired by the Head of State. Asked about RTL about a possible appointment to Matignon, the person concerned said that it was “not the subject”.
Lagarde brushes the question aside
Christine Lagarde would also be in the small papers of Emmanuel Macron. According to Les Echos, the name of the current director of the ECB was whispered in the president’s ear by Nicolas Sarkozy. Anchored on the right, she has already been a minister under Jacques Chirac (for Foreign Trade) then under Nicolas Sarkozy (for the Economy).
Expert in economic and financial issues, Christine Lagarde is a respected political figure who could satisfy a French political opinion that leans to the right. But the appointment of a third right-wing Prime Minister (after Edouard Philippe and Jean Castex) could offend the left-wing electorate, which greatly participated in Emmanuel Macron’s victory on April 24.
“I’m in Frankfurt (headquarters of the ECB) until 2027. I don’t usually give up along the way,” said Christine Lagarde on France Inter.
A return of “NKM”?
According to several media including RTL, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet could return to government. Minister of Ecology under Nicolas Sarkozy, it could correspond to Emmanuel Macron’s desire to entrust “ecological planning” to the future Prime Minister.
Former part of the UMP, his appointment would have the advantage of fracturing the Republicans a little more. Currently living in New York, “NKM” works for the investment fund Antin. “I do not comment on politics in France, I am involved in my work here,” she said at the microphone of RTL.
Another personality cited by several media, including the JDD, that of Nicole Notat. Number 1 of the CFDT from 1992 to 2002, she could correspond to the social profile that Emmanuel Macron is looking for. Support of the president in 2017 then in 2022, she made herself known by coordinating the Ségur de la santé, a major consultation carried out during the pandemic under the aegis of Minister Olivier Véran.
In 2017, Emmanuel Macron had already expressed the wish for a female appointment at Matignon, before choosing Edouard Philippe.