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Who are the favourites to become the new French PM?

French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne handed in her resignation on Monday, leaving many wondering who will be selected to replace her.

Published: 8 January 2024 19:24 CET
Who are the favourites to become the new French PM?
French former Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne (C) flanked by cabinet ministers including French Minister for the Economy and Finances Bruno Le Maire (L) and French Junior Minister for Public Accounts Gabriel Attal (top) at parliament in Paris in October 2022. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP)

Several names have been floating around, as political commentators in France attempt to determine who will take over as PM after Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne’s resignation.

While Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, the only senior minister to be in office since Macron’s election in 2017, is likely to remain in his post, four other names have been listed as favourites to replace PM Borne.

READ MORE: What does a French Prime Minister actually do?

Gabriel Attal

French Education and Youth Minister Gabriel Attal in December 2023 (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

Just 34-years-old, Gabriel Attal is France’s current education minister.

In the course of his tenure – which began in July 2023 – Attal has overseen an anti-bullying campaign and the banning of abayas (a loose garment worn by some Muslim women) in French state schools.

Previously, he served as the government spokesperson from 2020 to 2022.

According to recent polling, Attal was a top choice among the French public to replace Borne as PM, with 36 percent of respondents agreeing he would “make a good prime minister”. In comparison, French President Emmanuel Macron’s approval rating stood at 27 percent as of January 2024.

On Monday, a source close to the government told AFP that Attal was the favourite to succeed Borne.

If named, he would be France’s youngest ever and first openly gay prime minister.

Sébastien Lecornu

French Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu in January 2024. (Photo by JULIEN DE ROSA / AFP)

37-year-old armed forces minister, Sébastien Lecornu, joined Macron in 2017.

Previously, he served as France’s minister of overseas territories from 2020-2022. He is also a reservist with the rank of colonel in the Gendarmerie Nationale.

As a defector from the centre-right Republicans party, Lecornu would follow in the footsteps of two previous prime ministers — Philippe and Jean Castex — if he were to be named for the position.

Lecornu has become a close adviser to Macron, who has used his experience in local and regional government. 

Macron’s political party lacks a majority in parliament and is already riven by disagreements over the immigration law, which was greatly hardened as a condition for receiving necessary support from The Republicans.

Julien Denormandie

France’s former Agriculture Minister Julien Denormandie in 2022. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP)

Denormandie, aged 43, served as the agriculture minister from 2019 to 2022 and has been with Macron from the start of his presidential campaign. 

Denormandie almost founded a start-up with Macron in 2014 before becoming his deputy chief of staff when Macron was Economy Minister under President Francois Hollande. 

He has been working in the private sector since 2022 at a company called ‘Sweep’, a platform which seeks to reduce carbon emissions for businesses, where he holds the title of “chief impact officer”.

Catherine Colonna

France’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna in Beirut in December 2023 (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP)

A seasoned diplomat and France’s current foreign minister, Colonna, aged 67, has been in her position since May 2022. 

Previously, she served as France’s Ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2019 to 2022. She has also been Ambassador to Italy (2014-2017), as well France’s permanent representative to the OECD and UNESCO.

Some have speculated that her tenure as foreign minister may be nearing its end – according to Ouest France (citing Politico), several appointments she had scheduled for this week have been cancelled.

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READER QUESTION

Reader question: Can I approach my French deputé for help? 

If you live in France you will have a local representative in parliament - but can you approach them for help if you have a problem? Here's how the député system works.

Published: 24 May 2024 15:49 CEST
Reader question: Can I approach my French deputé for help? 

There are 557 députés (MPs) in France’s Assemblée nationale – of whom 362 are men and 215 are women. 

They are elected on a constituency (circonscription) basis, so every area of France has its ‘local’ representative in parliament – you can look up yours here.

Officially however, French MPs are invested with a national mandate – effectively, France is their constituency. They are, therefore, expected to act in what they believe are the best interests of the whole country at all times – not just the interest of their local area.

National mandate 

“MPs in France are not mouthpieces for their voters,” the Assemblée nationale website declares, “they act for themselves in relation to their vision of the general interest.”

It goes on to insist that MPs, “cannot be prisoners of local or sectional interests” – meaning that they should not be persuaded to vote in a particular way by outside parties, whether that is businesses/ monied individuals/ lobbyists – or their own voters. 

It’s a Revolutionary ideal that has its origins in article three of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, from August 26th, 1789: “The principle of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body, no individual can exercise authority that does not emanate expressly from it.”

And the French Constitution states: “national sovereignty belongs to the people, who exercise it through their representatives”.

Basically, it means that deputies represent the entire nation and not just voters in their constituency.

READ ALSO OPINION: How to be loved by the French electorate? Retire or die

In reality, of course, MPs are influenced by what matters to their constituents – so for example an MP elected in a rural area might be more likely to back laws that protect farmers. 

And it’s not just MPs – the recent unsuccessful attempts to ease post-Brexit rules for British second-home owners were proposed by Senators who have constituencies in south-west France and the Alps; areas well known for having a high number of second homes.

Nonetheless, the theory is of ‘national’ MPs.

Meeting the locals

Crucially, however, this does not mean that – once elected – MPs do not meet residents in the constituencies that elected them and discuss local issues. Quite the opposite.

Constituents can contact their député to discuss ideas and concerns. In fact, your local MP – with their national mandate – is easy to get in touch with. You can find their official assembly email address here, along with where they sit in the hemisphere and what they have recently been up to in parliament, by searching for your commune or département.

In theory, that national mandate means you could contact any of France’s 577 MPs for assistance. But it makes sense to seek out the ones the electorate in your area voted for, because it means they should have a handle on any local issues and angles.

If you already know the name of your friendly neighbourhood MP, you could search for them on social media, and contact them that way; while many – but by no means all – have their own website, with additional contact details. 

So, generally, you can get hold of your French MP easily enough. They hold office hours, organise public meetings, respond to numerous requests for assistance and advice, and channel the concerns of their constituents to national decision-making bodies.

It is part of their job to help you if they can.

You may also bump into them at events in the local area such as summer fêstivals, the Fête de la musique or more formal events such as the Armistice Day commemorations or the July 14th celebrations. Politicians like to get involved in local events to either remain part of the community or to persuade people to re-elect them (take your pick).

At formal events they will be wearing a tricolore sash and you will be able to tell them apart from the local mayor by which way up they wear their sashes (honestly, this is true).

Mairie

Sometimes their help will involve pointing you in the direction of your local mairie – which may be better at dealing with more practical matters.

In fact, for many local issues, the mairie should be your first port of call – or possibly the préfecture. France has several layers of local government and they have quite far-reaching powers – especially local mayors.

For this reason, it’s more usual to first approach the mairie rather than your MP if you have a problem – but there’s nothing to stop you approaching your MP instead.

The convenient truth is that French MPs do not work just in the ivory tower of the Palais Bourbon.

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