PARIS — Emmanuel Macron has a message for ministers considering a run in upcoming local elections: Make up your mind — or leave.
The French president is trying to put an end to weeks of confusing signals from high-profile government figures about their involvement in the municipal elections in March, when his party will try to seize several major cities.
Prime Minister Edouard Philippe has reportedly been mulling a potential bid for mayor in the northern city of Le Havre, and is expected to announce his final decision on Friday, according to newspaper Le Parisien. Philippe’s lack of clarity around his ambitions in Le Havre has raised eyebrows as he battles with trade unions over a controversial pension reform.
More generally, the campaign has turned into bit of a human resources headache for Macron, with a dozen ministers involved in sensitive dossiers running or expected to run in the elections.
While French law doesn’t forbid holding both a ministerial post and a local mandate, Philippe himself clarified the rule for his government: Ministers elected as mayors will have to quit — although they can hold onto city councillor seats.
Earlier this week, three ministers dropped their bids, two of them at Macron’s request.
On Thursday, Agriculture Minister Didier Guillaume and Secretary of State Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, in charge of trade and tourism, withdrew from the race in the southern town of Biarritz.
They did so “at the request of the President of the Republic, in an approach of clarity and unity,” an Elysée spokesperson said.
Ongoing negotiations on the Common Agricultural Policy and Brexit, both “important for French agriculture,” were cited as key reasons behind Macron’s request.
Internal feuds
The bizarre situation in Biarritz — where Guillaume and Lemoyne were running on rival lists — was also one of several recent examples of lack of internal discipline in Macron’s La République En Marche (LREM) party, the most high-profile one being the battle for Paris’ city hall.
Star mathematician-turned-LREM lawmaker Cédric Villani last week refused to stand aside in favor of Benjamin Griveaux, who is the party’s official candidate in the capital, despite Macron’s personal intervention. He was later excluded from the party.
Meanwhile, Health Minister Agnès Buzyn — who was said to be the next minister to throw her hat into the campaign — on Tuesday shied away from running herself on Griveaux’s list.
“Paris is my city and I have always felt the urge to be engaged in the political process here, but the timing does not seem appropriate,” she told reporters, citing the need to focus on the coronavirus crisis.
But Budget Minister Gérald Darmanin is ready to leave the economy ministry if he wins the mayoral election in Tourcoing, he announced on January 28 in local newspaper La Voix du Nord.
Others are running or considering a run as supporting candidates on local lists, and are expected to remain in government during the campaign.
That’s the case for Culture Minister Franck Riester, Minister of Local Authorities Sébastien Lecornu, Junior Minister for Gender Equality Marlène Schiappa, Secretary of State for Transport Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, Secretary of State in the Armed Forces Ministry Geneviève Darrieussecq, Secretary of State for Education Gabriel Attal and Marc Fesneau, junior minister in charge of relations with parliament.