Several heavyweights, including Bruno Le Maire at Economy and Gérald Darmanin at Interior, were reappointed to the government concocted this Thursday by Emmanuel Macron and Gabriel Attal. A largely right-wing team whose big surprise is the arrival of the Sarkozyist Rachida Dati at Culture. A look back at the Prime Minister’s first speech at 8 p.m. on TF1, just after the appointment of his government. And this, while the left was already ironic about this new executive “Sarkozy IV”.
On his mission
Gabriel Attal promised Thursday evening after the appointment of his tightened government “action” and “results” to “respond to the problems of the French”. “What I want is action, action, action” and “results, results, results,” the Prime Minister insisted on TF1, praising “the “energy” of its ministers “200% committed to meeting the expectations of the French”.
About Rachida Dati
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal invoked on Thursday the “presumption of innocence” concerning the new Minister of Culture Rachida Dati, indicted for corruption, and praised a “woman of commitment”. “Indictment is not a conviction (…) it does not mean guilt,” he declared on TF1. Rachida Dati is “a woman of commitment, of energy, who all her life fought to obtain what she wanted to obtain”, he said, adding to have “a lot of respect for the fights that she led.”
Remember that Rachida Dati has been indicted since July 2021 for “corruption” and “passive influence peddling by a person invested with a public elective mandate” in the investigation into contracts entered into by a subsidiary of Renault-Nissan, when Carlos Ghosn was the CEO. She denies any irregularity.
On taxes
Prime Minister Gabriel Attal renewed Emmanuel Macron’s commitment to lower taxes for the middle classes. “The president is committed (to lowering taxes by two billion euros) and obviously, we will meet his commitment” because the “French are waiting for us to act for them,” said the head of the government.
Attal, in search of substantial savings to reduce the deficit and the debt, however refused to specify the timetable, while the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire had mentioned the inclusion of this reduction “if possible from the 2025 budget “.