Macron faces balancing act after losing allies to EU funds scandal
President Emmanuel Macron’s allies from the under- fire MoDem party quit the government, complicating what had been billed as a routine ministerial reshuffle days after his party emphatically won parliamentary elections.
With MoDem caught up in a judicial investigation into claims it misused EU parliamentary funds, the party’s leader Francois Bayrou - a significant ally since backing Macron’s presidential bid in February - quit as Justice Minister on Wednesday.
The center- right party’s two other ministers have also quit Macron’s administration since Tuesday.
Macron, elected on an independent centrist ticket on May 7, had crafted a first government that comprised ministers of the left, right and center, reshaping France’s political landscape as he extended his support base.
But the flurry of departures indicates that a reshuffle he has scheduled for later on Wednesday will be more far- reaching than expected as the new president seeks to maintain that balance.
Macron’s Republic On the Move ( LREM) party won 308 seats in the 577- strong National Assembly on Sunday, while MoDem gained 42.
He may have to replace MoDem ministers with politicians from the conservative Republicans, which could give ammunition to leftist opponents who call him a right- winger in disguise.
“We have a majority after Sunday’s night win and we have the wherewithal to govern,” government spokesman Christophe Castaner told Europe 1 radio. “So now it’s get to work everyone, let’s get to work.”
The prime minister’s office confirmed Bayrou’s departure and sources told Reuters Junior European affairs minister Marielle de Sarnez, another top MoDem official, was also leaving gov- ernment. That followed the resignation on Tuesday of MoDem defence minister Sylvie Goulard.
While Bayrou and de Sarnez have not commented yet, Goulard on Tuesday said she was leaving because of the investigation, into whether MoDem used EU parliament funds to finance jobs carried out by party officials in France.