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François Hollande reshuffles cabinet François Hollande brings Greens to government in cabinet reshuffle
(about 1 hour later)
French president François Hollande reshuffled his government on Thursday to prepare for 2017 presidential elections by bringing his former prime minister back to his cabinet, as well as three Green politicians. François Hollande has reshuffled his Socialist government, bringing in three Green politicians in an attempt to broaden his voter base before a difficult presidential re-election battle next year.
Jean-Marc Ayrault, a veteran of the Socialist party who was prime minister from 2012-14, has been appointed foreign minister to replace Laurent Fabius who resigned on Wednesday to head the country’s top constitutional council. The reshuffle is seen as the French president’s last chance to win support on the left and calm the growing tensions within his own party ranks after his controversial bid to reform the constititution in the wake of the November Paris attacks.
The head of the Greens party, Emmanuelle Cosse, joins the government as housing minister, in an apparent effort to quell tensions within Hollande’s leftist camp ahead of next year’s presidential elections.. Two dissident Green lawmakers also join the government as secretaries of state. In a gesture towards the Socialist party core, Hollande brought back his former prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, to become foreign minister, replacing Laurent Fabius.
The head of the small Left Radical party, Jean-Michel Baylet, becomes minister for local authorities, replacing a more junior member of his party who until then was housing minister. A former German teacher who has long worked behind the scenes to smooth relations with Berlin, Ayrault will be seen as a crucial player in dealing with Germany over the major issues facing the European Union, such as the migration crisis. It is the first time in 50 years that a former prime minister has returned to serve in government as a minister in the same administration.
Most other key portfolios were unchanged. Prime minister Manuel Valls, economy minister Emmanuel Macron and finance minister Michael Sapin retain their positions. Jean-Jacques Urvoas, who replaced Christiane Taubira when she resigned as justice minister last month, also remains in place. Ayrault, who is the son of a factory worker and was once known for holidaying in a 1988 Volkswagen Combi camper van, is seen as loyal to Hollande and representing the traditional Socialist heartlands. This is key as the party tears itself apart over the direction of Hollande’s government amid rancour from some quarters that he has abandoned the values of the left.
More details soon … Initial efforts to kickstart a flagging economy with a raft of reforms last year led to a criticism of a shift in ideology, with a rebellious fringe of the Socialists accusing the government led by prime minister Manuel Valls of being too pro-business.
Significantly, the head of the Green party, Emmanuelle Cosse, has joined the government as housing minister. This is one of the most important appointments in terms of sending a message that Hollande wants to reach beyond his party to broader left-wing voters to prepare for the election.
With an opinion poll for Libération showing that about 75% of French people are opposed to Hollande being re-elected, the president is seeking to neutralise vocal opponents on the left, such as the Greens, and perhaps put them off running their own presidential candidate. Green ministers who had previously been in government left in 2014 when the current prime minister, Valls, seen as on the right of the Socialist party, had taken the helm.
Now a total of three Green politicians have returned to government, including Barbara Pompili and Jean-Vincent Placé, who join as secretaries of state and were already seen as being favourable towards Hollande’s policies. They had recently left the main Green party to found their own grouping.
Hollande has also created a new ministry for “aid to victims”. It comes after families of the victims of last year’s terrorist attacks – from the Charlie Hebdo massacre to the November attacks – had complained of mistakes and failings in the dealings with families and passing on information about the identities of the dead.
Other leading ministerial positions including defence and finance are unchanged.
Hollande, one of the most unpopular French presidents in modern history, saw a rise in popularity after his handling of last year’s attacks but this has since waned.
Efforts to enshrine tough new emergency security measures into the constitution, and a reform to strip convicted terrorists of their French nationality, have been deeply divisive among the political class.
Hollande is also increasingly under pressure over the state of the economy. He is accused by his critics of operating a stop-start reform policy that has not gone far enough to tackle structural problems as the French economy continues to trail behind much of Europe.
In electoral terms, Hollande’s biggest headache is the stubbornly high unemployment rate, a topic of great concern to French voters. It currently stands at an 18-year high of more than 10%, roughly twice that of the UK and Germany.
A record 3.6 million French people are out of work – over 600,000 more than when Hollande took office in 2012. France is now firmly above the European average for joblessness, at a time when unemployment has dropped in other large European economies.