When will the new government finally be appointed? ? Heavyweights announced, place of the left… the last questions pending

New postponement and known soap opera. Given as probable Sunday evening, the presentation of François Bayrou's government has been postponed, which leaves very few possibilities for an announcement before Christmas, the objective displayed by the Prime Minister.

No announcement is expected before 6 p.m. on Monday, the Élysée announced, without specifying whether the composition of the government would be known at that time.

Monday was declared a national day of mourning by President Emmanuel Macron for Mayotte, devastated by Cyclone Chido.

A minute of silence must be observed throughout the country at 11 a.m. in tribute to the victims of the disaster, whose provisional toll stands at 35 dead and 2,500 injured.

Deeply moved, the deputy (LIOT) of Mayotte, Estelle Youssouffa, said she “indignant” Monday that “the little Parisian mess continues” on this day of mourning, while the population of Mayotte “has no water, has not seen any help“. “It is so contemptuous, so serious, so mediocre, that we no longer have the words”, she declared on France Inter.

If the announcement were to be delayed further, the government would not be known until Tuesday, December 24, Christmas Eve and the start of the end-of-year holiday break.

From the appointment of Prime Ministers to reshuffles, the political class has become accustomed to having to wait according to the executive's schedule adjustments.

“This duration of this casting in relation to the country's emergencies, to the crises we are going through, it is unbearable”, criticized RN MP Jean-Philippe Tanguy on BFMTV-RMC, denouncing “always the same sketch”.

Heavyweights

The centrist leader, 73 years old, fourth Prime Minister in 2024, hopes to form a government of heavyweights, able to avoid censorship, with personalities from the right, the center and the left.

His entourage had announced on Sunday that the Prime Minister was “making the final adjustments to his government”. Several telephone conversations with Emmanuel Macron took place on Sunday, as well as an interview in the evening at the Élysée.

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“It's moving forward. The structure of the major ministerial poles is set”, had assured during the weekend the president of the MoDem deputies, Marc Fesneau, close to François Bayrou, confirming that the complete list of the government should be presented “in one go” and “before Christmas”.

But the composition of a government responds to a subtle dosage which must notably respect the political balances, the parity between men and women, and the sensitivities of people. The ministers will especially have to urgently prepare a budget for 2025, under pressure from the opposition and the financial markets.

The names of former Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne and former Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin are being mentioned as candidates for François Bayrou's team, as is Xavier Bertrand, president of Hauts-de-France and a leading figure in the right-wing party Les Républicains (LR).

The latter, cited for Justice, is an irritant for the National Rally, which he has long fought. Especially since Marine Le Pen is awaiting her judgment, with possible ineligibility, in the trial of the assistants of the European Parliament.

“This is a bad sign that has been made”, Jean-Philippe Tanguy grumbled, repeating nevertheless that the entry of Xavier Bertrand into the government would not lead to immediate censure of the far-right party.

As for Gérald Darmanin, ex-LR rallied to the macronie, he publicly announced his candidacy for the Quai d'Orsay where the current Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Noël Barrot (MoDem) would like to stay.

Few people at left

On the left, former socialist minister François Rebsamen, 73, announced that he was “ready” to join the government, boasting of his “relationship of trust” longstanding with François Bayrou.

But almost nothing has filtered through about other figures from the left who might be tempted to join François Bayrou.

The Socialist Party has formally refused to participate in the government and its leader Olivier Faure said he was “dismayed by the poverty of what (has been) proposed” and did not rule out censoring the brand new Prime Minister, an early ally of Emmanuel Macron.

Among the outgoing members, Catherine Vautrin (Territories), Rachida Dati (Culture) and Sébastien Lecornu (Armies) are expected to remain, probably in the same portfolios.

On Saturday evening, the leader of the Les Républicains deputies Laurent Wauquiez confirmed to his troops that he was moving towards his party's participation in the government, subject to written commitments from the Prime Minister “with details on the roadmap” particularly budgetary. He had however indicated that he himself would not join the Bayrou team after having aspired to take the Finance portfolio.

On the other hand, the outgoing Minister of the Interior Bruno Retailleau is well on his way to staying. The centrist's government base would ultimately be quite close to that of LR Michel Barnier, overthrown on December 4 by a motion of censure in the National Assembly, after three months in office.