New government: discover the profiles of the ministers who will work with Michel Barnier

On connait la composition du gouvernement Barnier. MAXPPP – Julien Mattia/Le Pictorium

Ce samedi 21 septembre 2024, la composition du nouveau gouvernement a été dévoilée. Michel Barnier travaillera avec 39 ministres.

A new government is finally here. After weeks of procrastination, the new French government led by Michel Barnier was finally announced on Saturday, an executive of 39 ministers that leans clearly to the right, and whose first task will be to get the budget voted on.

The government will meet Monday afternoon at the Elysée Palace for the first Council of Ministers.

Europe and Foreign Affairs

The MoDem Jean-Noël Barrot was appointed Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs on Saturday, replacing Stéphane Séjourné, in the government of the new Prime Minister Michel Barnier, announced the Secretary General of l’Elysée Alexis Kohler.

Sébastien Lecornu, a loyal supporter of Emmanuel Macron, was reappointed to the Ministry of the Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs. These two positions belong to what is traditionally called the "reserved domain" of the head of state, on which he intends to have his say. A "shared domain", according to Michel Barnier.

The Economy

Macronist MP Antoine Armand has been appointed Minister of the Economy, Finance and Industry, replacing Bruno Le Maire, announced the Secretary General of the Elysée Alexis Kohler.

Former Macronist MP Laurent Saint-Martin has been appointed Minister of the Budget and Public Accounts, replacing Thomas Cazenave. He will report to the Prime Minister on a hot issue given the scale of the deficit.

Government Spokesperson

Macronist MP Maud Bregeon was appointed spokesperson for Michel Barnier's government on Saturday, replacing Prisca Thevenot who held this exposed position in Gabriel Attal's team, announced the Secretary General of the Elysée Alexis Kohler.

Close to the outgoing Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, this elected representative from Hauts-de-Seine is one of the media figures of the presidential Renaissance party. A former EDF engineer, she is a fervent supporter of nuclear power and distinguished herself in the Assembly as rapporteur of the project to revive the sector, adopted in May.

Ministry of the Interior

LR tenor Bruno Retailleau was appointed Minister of the Interior on Saturday to replace Gérald Darmanin, announced the Secretary General of the Elysée Alexis Kohler.

Strategic boss of the powerful Les Républicains group in the Senate since 2014, the elected official from Vendée, who has a firm line on immigration, security, and respect for secularism, has constantly denounced the “laxity” of Macron's government on these issues managed by this ministry. Bruno Retailleau also opposed marriage for all and the end-of-life bill wanted by Emmanuel Macron.

Minister of Justice

Former socialist MP Didier Migaud was appointed Minister of Justice on Saturday, replacing Eric Dupond-Moretti, in the government of the new Prime Minister Michel Barnier, announced the Secretary General of the Elysée Alexis Kohler.

An old hand in politics and government service, Didier Migaud is an expert in budgetary issues: he chaired the Court of Auditors for ten years before ensuring the probity of elected officials at the head of the High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (HATVP). Among the members of the Barnier government, Didier Migaud is the only one to come from the left even though he left active politics in 2010.

On the Ecological Transition

Macronist MP Agnès Pannier-Runacher, outgoing Minister Delegate for Agriculture, was appointed Minister for the Ecological Transition and Energy on Saturday, replacing Christophe Béchu in Michel Barnier's government, announced the Secretary General of the Elysée Alexis Kohler.

A member of the left wing of the presidential Renaissance party, the one who had just been elected MP for Pas-de-Calais is therefore staying in the government, returning to thorny issues related to the climate crisis after having already been in charge of the Energy Transition between 2022 and January.

At Work

The Macronist MP for Paris Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet was appointed Minister of Labor and Employment on Saturday, replacing Catherine Vautrin, in the government of the new Prime Minister Michel Barnier, announced the Secretary General of the Elysée Alexis Kohler.

A former socialist, this close friend of Emmanuel Macron and co-founder of En Marche in 2016 is a former director of CAC40 companies. She recently opposed the unemployment insurance reform led by Gabriel Attal.

Public Service

Macronist MP and outgoing Minister of Housing Guillaume Kasbarian has become Minister of Public Service, Simplification and Transformation of Public Action, the Elysée Palace announced on Saturday.

Guillaume Kasbarian succeeds Stanislas Guerini in this position, who joined Emmanuel Macron in 2015 in his rise to the Elysée Palace and has held this portfolio since May 2022.

National Education and Higher Education

Macronist MP Anne Genetet was appointed Minister of National Education on Saturday, replacing Nicole Belloubet in the government of the new Prime Minister Michel Barnier, announced the Secretary General of the Elysée Alexis Kohler.

Elected by the French abroad, better known in the Assembly for her work on defense and diplomacy, she inherits one of the most demanding administrations in the State. Unknown to the general public, she becomes the sixth Minister of Education in seven years and will have a lot to do to build a relationship of trust with teachers.

LR MP Patrick Hetzel is appointed Minister of Higher Education and Research.

Consumption

Senator Les Républicains (LR) Laurence Garnier, initially tipped for Family but whose mobilization against marriage for all sparked an outcry in Macronie and on the left, has been appointed Secretary of State for Consumer Affairs, the Elysée announced on Saturday.

The 46-year-old elected official from Nantes, leader of the opposition to the socialist mayor of Nantes Johanna Rolland, had also opposed the inclusion in the Constitution of the freedom to have an abortion.

Health and Access to care

The MoDem Geneviève Darrieussecq was appointed Saturday Minister of Health and Access to Care, replacing Catherine Vautrin in the government of the new Prime Minister Michel Barnier, announced the Secretary General of the Elysée Alexis Kohler.

Re-elected MP for Landes on July 7, this allergist doctor left the government in 2023 after spending six consecutive years there. A loyal supporter of centrist leader François Bayrou, she inherits a sector in difficulty where professionals' trust in public authorities has continued to decline.

Minister of Territories

Catherine Vautrin, former Minister of Labor, Health and Solidarity, was appointed to the Territories in Michel Barnier's government on Saturday, announced the Secretary General of the Elysée Alexis Kohler.

This close friend of Nicolas Sarkozy, former minister under Jacques Chirac, joined Gabriel Attal's government in January after being barred from Matignon in 2022 for having participated in the mobilization against the law opening marriage to people of the same sex. She took the lead in pushing the end-of-life bill, whose examination was halted in the Assembly by the dissolution, and defended the unemployment insurance reform, which was also on hold.

Barely appointed, already criticized

The leaders of the radical left and far-right parties have harshly criticized in unison the new French government announced Saturday by the right-wing Prime Minister Michel Barnier, while no majority has existed in the National Assembly since the early elections in June.

The leader of La France Insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon, called on Saturday to “get rid of the newly appointed government as soon as possible”. This government “signals the return of Macronism” and “has no future”, said the president of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, whose far-right party holds the power to censor this team in the Assembly.

No change in Culture

The main right-wing pick in the Attal government, Rachida Dati, was reappointed Saturday to the Ministry of Culture in Michel Barnier's executive, announced the Secretary General of the Elysée Alexis Kohler.

After having long criticized the Macronists, the mayor of the 7th arrondissement of Paris moved to the Ministry of Culture in January and has become a fervent defender of the President of the Republic. She aims to conquer Paris in the 2026 municipal elections.

Agriculture

MP Annie Genevard, one of the leaders of the Les Républicains party, was appointed Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry on Saturday, replacing Marc Fesneau, in Michel Barnier's government, announced the Secretary General of the Elysée Alexis Kohler.

This interim co-leader of LR, who had publicly expressed her interest in Education, inherits an ultra-sensitive portfolio after the crisis at the beginning of the year marked by several weeks of farmers' protests.

Minister of Overseas Territories

Republican senator François-Noël Buffet was appointed Minister for Overseas Territories on Saturday, replacing Marie Guévenoux, in the government of the new Prime Minister Michel Barnier, to whom he will report directly, announced the Secretary General of the Elysée Alexis Kohler.

A supporter from the very beginning of the former right-wing Prime Minister François Fillon, this heavyweight in the Senate claims to be a social Gaullist, on a line considered less hard-line than that of the man who was his leader in the Upper House, Bruno Retailleau, who was appointed to the Interior.

Housing

Valérie Létard, a centrist figure firmly established in the North, was appointed Minister of Housing and Urban Renewal in Michel Barnier's government on Saturday.

The former vice-president of the Senate and close friend of Jean-Louis Borloo succeeds Guillaume Kasbarian in this portfolio often described as a “social bomb”. The native of the North, born in 1962 between Lille and Valenciennes, was elected UDI deputy for the 21st constituency of the North in July, with 51.5% of the vote, beating her RN competitor thanks to the withdrawal of the LFI candidate who came third.

Minister of Sports

The mayor of Châteauroux (Indre) and president of the association Villes de France, Gil Avérous, has been appointed Minister of Sports, Youth and Community Life, succeeding Amélie Oudéa-Castéra after the Paris Olympic Games, the Elysée announced on Saturday.

Gil Avérous, 51 years old, has been mayor of Châteauroux since 2014 and his town hosted the shooting events during the Olympic Games. Amélie Oudéa-Castéra had been Minister of Sports since May 2022. Also appointed Minister of Education in January 2024, she had to resign a month later after controversial remarks on public education.

Solidarity, Autonomy and Equality 

Horizons MP Paul Christophe has been appointed Minister of Solidarity, Autonomy and Equality between Women and Men, the Elysée announced on Saturday.

He is one of the two representatives of the Former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe in the government, with Marie-Agnès Poussier-Winsback, responsible for the social and solidarity economy.