Emmanuel Macron Forms New Government, Focusing on Education

French President Emmanuel Macron has assembled his new government, with a focus on education. The new team includes several new ministers, such as Catherine Vautrin and Rachida Dati, who bring a more conservative approach to the government. Earlier in the day, during the handover ceremonies, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal expressed his attachment to the Ministry of Education, which he passed on to Amélie Oudéa-Castéra. Attal assured that all the initiatives he had started in education would continue.

The new ministers of Macron’s team officially assumed their roles on Friday, January 12th, after several handover ceremonies for the ministries that had changed hands. The executive branch met for the first time in a Cabinet meeting at the Élysée Palace. Macron urged the government members to be “revolutionaries” rather than caretakers and emphasized the need for discipline. He called for solidarity and speed, which are essential for efficiency. Macron stressed his expectation for results and urged the ministers to focus on service. Among the handovers, the new Prime Minister Gabriel Attal relinquished the Ministry of Education to Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, who also retains the position of Minister of Youth and Sports, just seven months before the Paris Olympic Games.

Attal assured that all the ongoing educational initiatives would be continued, stating that the direction remained unchanged. He emphasized the commitment to improving educational standards and implementing a comprehensive curriculum. Attal also highlighted the need to establish an education system based on both rights and responsibilities, with respect for the authority of teachers and non-negotiable republican values.

The most surprising inclusion in the new government is Rachida Dati, the former Minister of Justice under President Nicolas Sarkozy from 2007 to 2009. She was immediately expelled from her party by the party leader. Dati emphasized her determination to defend French cultural exceptionalism and popular culture. She stressed the importance of building a new popular culture, from urban areas to rural communities. Dati pledged to be a staunch advocate for cultural exceptionalism and emphasized the need to make culture more accessible across all regions.

Another notable addition to the government is Stéphane Séjourné, the leader of the Renaissance party and a close ally of Macron. Séjourné, who was previously in a domestic partnership with Gabriel Attal, is now in charge of French diplomacy, replacing Jean-Yves Le Drian. With fluency in several languages, including Spanish, and having lived part of his youth in Argentina, Séjourné becomes the youngest Minister of Foreign Affairs in the history of the Fifth Republic. He emphasized that the advent of Europe would be his top priority and announced upcoming visits to Germany and Poland, against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. Séjourné underscored the crucial role of European cooperation in strengthening France’s position globally.