Why do ministers from the Barnier or Bayrou governments travel so little to the regions?

Un ministre dans l’Hérault (ici, Eric Dupond-Moretti, bras dessus bras dessous avec Patrick Vignal), une image devenue rare – EMELINE ANDREANI

Peu de membres du gouvernement franchissent le périphérique depuis la dissolution, sinon pour des cérémonies officielles. Une rupture après des années de grande activité. Explications.

It seems a long time ago that ministers travelled one after another in the provinces, particularly in Occitanie. Where we could see, in two weeks, the first two of June 2023 for example, Geneviève Darrieussecq, in charge of Disabled People, passing through Mende, Christophe Béchu (Ecological Transition) and Agnès Firmin Le Bodo (Health) joining Millau, before leaving for Lozère the next day. Preceding the Minister of Justice, Éric Dupond-Moretti, on a two-day visit to Hérault. And we are only talking about the east of the region…

That was twenty months ago, an eternity in these political times. These ministers were part of the government of Élisabeth Borne, who has since been succeeded by three other Prime Ministers. Under Gabriel Attal, the pace has not slowed down, he himself multiplying everywhere. But since the dissolution of July, things have changed.

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Period of instability

Anecdotal ? Not necessarily. Because it remains interesting to observe what this state of affairs says about the current political situation. During Emmanuel Macron's first term, and then at the beginning of his second five-year term, members of the government were explicitly instructed not to remain secluded in their ministries and to go out and meet citizens.

Today, in a period of political instability (parliamentary, governmental) unprecedented for over half a century, with a head of state and a prime minister who are breaking respective records of unpopularity, the desire to go and rub shoulders with the mood of the French is proving to be quite measured.

Rare examples

And for an Astrid Panosyan-Bouvert (Minister of Labor and Employment) who came to Aveyron on January 6, or for a Yannick Neuder (Health) traveling in Hérault on Friday, initiatives are rare. Except for official ceremonies or inaugurations (the Héraultaise Patricia Mirallès, Minister Delegate for Remembrance and Veterans, for the opening of an Athos house, Friday, in Gers, for example), or even for visits to conquered territory on their chosen land.

Additional difficulty: after the early legislative elections in July, some departments no longer have any MPs from the parties represented in the Barnier or Bayrou governments. This is the case in Gard and Hérault, where it is difficult to imagine opponents of the executive, especially RN or LFI parliamentarians, concocting a trip to the smallest detail for a Macronist or LR elected official.

“If you come, bring your checkbook!”

Patrick Vignal, the main organizer of this type of visit in Hérault during his twelve years in office (until last June) agrees: “Between 2012 and 2024, I welcomed 54 ministers to my constituency. Afterwards, when you have almost only the two extremes represented among the deputies, it becomes more difficult…” he agrees.

Before estimating that this scarcity of visits also causes the territories concerned to lose a lot: “I did not organize activist trips for them. But at each of these visits, there was a check. Olivier Véran, for the Ehpad, in Lunel, he had given ten million euros for example. And for the gendarmerie, Cazeneuve and Darmanin, in all, they gave 40 million. I told them this: if you come, you bring the checkbook! And when there are projects, they come.”

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