The crossover of ambassadors engaged in the heart of summer is gradually revealing its secrets. While the movement is taking place discreetly, one thing is certain: the ongoing carousel game will undoubtedly lead to a profound change at the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, several pillars of which are called upon to take up important positions in G7 countries.
According to the decisions taken at the Council of Ministers, Friday, July 29, the secretary general of the ministry, François Delattre, would indeed be appointed as ambassador to Germany. Several names are circulating to replace him, including that of the outgoing ambassador in Berlin, Anne-Marie Descôtes, or that of the permanent representative of France to the United Nations in Geneva, Jérôme Bonnafont, author before his arrival in Switzerland here barely a year of a report on the human resources policy of the Quai d’Orsay.
In addition, two directors general out of the three in the ministry are expected to leave their posts. The current boss of the administration, Hélène Duchêne, would be appointed to London, where she must replace Catherine Colonna, who became foreign minister after the re-election of Emmanuel Macron. Michel Miraillet (Director General of Globalization) is on his way to Ottawa, Canada.
In addition, the current director of legal affairs of the ministry, François Alabrune, will become ambassador to the Netherlands, also responsible for representing Paris at the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. A position that will allow him to oversee the work of the International Criminal Court, which is very involved in investigations into war crimes committed in Ukraine by the Russian army. Mr. Alabrune replaces Luis Vassy, who has just taken over the management of Mrs. Colonna’s cabinet.
Strategic positions still to be filled
At this stage, these various appointments, like those made ten days earlier for some thirty countries, are more likely to reassure diplomats, burned by the redesign of the Quai carried out at the instigation of the Elysée, within the framework of the reform of the senior civil service. Many fear that the extinction by the end of the year of the two bodies at the heart of the ministry – the foreign affairs advisers and the ministers plenipotentiary – will allow the executive to make more political choices. , to the detriment of professional diplomats, experienced in world affairs. Extremely rare, on June 2, a good part of the hierarchy of the Quai, including Michel Miraillet, had gone on strike against these measures.
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