Former Socialist figure emerges as serious contender for French PM – Technologist

Will Bernard Cazeneuve become the prime minister of exceptional circumstances? After enabling former Socialist president François Hollande, who faced widespread criticism, to complete his five-year term in 2017, could the former prime minister (2016-2017) now help Emmanuel Macron navigate his second term through a crisis? Following a week of consultations at the Elysée, he seems to be a serious contender.

Cazeneuve, a former member of the Socialist Party respected by both the right and the left, is one of the few figures who “would not immediately unite a majority of the Assemblée [Nationale] against him,” according to Macron’s entourage, as the president has made avoiding a vote of no confidence the main criterion for choosing his prime minister.

“We need to appoint someone who is capable of uniting the left and the right” and who is “notoriously independent” of the president, said former education minister Jean-Michel Blanquer (2017-2022) on France Inter radio on Thursday, August 29, mentioning Cazeneuve among others. According to the Elysée, after consultations, Cazeneuve, who’s also a former interior minister (2014-2016), is not seen as an “irritant” either by the right or the far right.

As for the left, even though it would be hard for some to accept Cazeneuve’s return, the Socialist group in the Assemblée Nationale would not immediately look to overthrow his government with a vote of no-confidence. However, he “will have to justify himself to the left and give them some pledges,” warned a former minister from Hollande’s government. The Socialists have already outlined certain key demands, including the repeal of pension reform and an increase in the minimum wage.

‘Coalitation’

At odds with Macron since his former government colleague launched his presidential bid – Macron was Hollande’s economy minister before resigning to run for president in 2016. Cazeneuve’s appointment as prime minister would therefore tick the cohabitation box the president wishes to, having promised not to appoint a head of government from his own camp. The Elysée has already coined the term “coalitation” – combining “coalition” and “cohabitation” – for this potential political setting involving a three-way cohabitation between the president, the government, and the Assemblée Nationale.

However, Cazeneuve hasn’t been offered the job at this time. He consistently tells those he speaks with that he is not a candidate for anything. Although he had discussions over the summer with Patrice Vergriete, the caretaker transport minister and also or former Socialist; and Richard Ferrand, the former Macronist president of the Assemblée Nationale; Cazeneuve, a partner at the prestigious August Debouzy law firm, hasn’t heard from Macron for months nor from his advisers. He is annoyed that his name is being mentioned without any direct communication from the Elysée. If reached out to, he suggested that he would consider the role, given the country’s emergency situation. “I’ve never refused to put wisdom where there’s nonsense,” he said on TV in early August, his only concern being that “the country doesn’t fall into decline, into ungovernability.”

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