PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron reshuffled his cabinet on Tuesday, appointing new interior, agriculture and culture ministers after a weeks-long search for new talent to try to revive his government’s flagging fortunes.
Two weeks after political veteran Gerard Collomb abruptly resigned as interior minister, Macron appointed the ultra-loyal head of his Republic on the Move party, Christophe Castaner, to replace him.
The centrist president also dismissed his agriculture and culture ministers, seen as weak links in his cabinet, which is a blend of experts in their field and experienced politicians from the left and right.
The prime minister, foreign and economy ministers all kept their jobs, however.
Presenting a “renewed, dynamic team with a second wind,” the presidency said it would continue on the same track of reforms.
“We will not change direction,” Prime Minister Edouard Philippe vowed.
But analysts expressed doubt that the reshuffle would significantly change perceptions of the government.
“It’s a very technical reshuffle... which means it is unlikely to stir French passions,” said Chloe Morin, an analyst at Ipsos polling company.
Macron was scheduled to explain the reshuffle in a rare primetime television address later Tuesday evening.
Collomb’s departure on October 2 was a blow to Macron, coinciding with a slump in his popularity after a scandal involving a close aide, several verbal gaffes and a raft of disappointing economic data.
Collomb’s resignation followed that of star environment minister Nicolas Hulot in August, creating a sense of a government in disarray.
Macron’s delay in carrying out the reshuffle, caused partly by his difficulty in convincing people to join his team, was seen as further evidence of his weakened position.
The opposition on Tuesday slammed his hotly anticipated new picks as underwhelming.
The parliamentary leader of the center-right Republicans, Christian Jacob, said it was “more like a balloon bursting than a second wind.”
Christophe Castaner, a gregarious 52-year-old former Socialist from southern France, had been widely tipped to replace Collomb, who is returning to his home town of Lyon to serve as mayor.
A member of the president’s inner circle, Castaner was a rebellious youth who has spoken of how he rubbed shoulders with Marseille gang members at poker games before entering politics, first as a mayor than an MP.
He has little experience of national security issues but on Tuesday vowed to be “at your service, ladies and gentlemen, 24 hours a day.”
He resigned his leadership of the ruling party to take up the job.
The current head of France’s domestic intelligence agency, Laurent Nunez, was named as his deputy at the interior ministry.
Macron’s choices reflected his continuing attempt to appeal to both sides of the political divide, but there were few household names in the new line-up.
Didier Guillaume, a former Socialist, was named agriculture minister, replacing Stephane Travert, while center-right former Republicans lawmaker Franck Riester took over from publisher Francoise Nyssen in culture.
There were also changes in the ministry for relations with local government, with Jacqueline Gourault taking over the tricky portfolio at a time of budget cuts that have caused deep discontent among rural mayors.
Analysts say many ministers and members of Macron’s party have struggled to emerge from his shadow since he won elections in May 2017 at the head of a newly formed pro-EU, pro-business party.
His polling numbers have slumped to their lowest level since his electoral victory in May 2017.
Surveys show that only around 30 percent of French voters have a positive view of his presidency.
He suffered the first major scandal of his presidency in July when footage emerged of one of his most trusted security aides hitting a protester while apparently posing as a policeman at a May Day rally.
Slowing economic growth — expected to fall to 1.6 percent this year from 2.3 percent in 2017 — and a series of public gaffes that fueled a perception of arrogance have also served to undermine Macron’s popularity.
France's Macron seeks second wind with cabinet reshuffle
France's Macron seeks second wind with cabinet reshuffle
Nigerian flood victims face long wait for medical help
The deluge threatens not only the health and safety of the displaced but puts a strain on aid agencies and government resources, exacerbating an already critical humanitarian crisis.
The floods in Borno, the birthplace of Boko Haram militants in the Lake Chad basin, started when a dam burst its walls following heavy rainfall that has also caused floods in Cameroon, Chad, Mali and Niger, all part of Africa’s Sahel region that usually receives little rain.
In the last two weeks of August, more than 1.5 million people were displaced across 12 countries in West and Central Africa due to floods, and about 465 have been killed, according to the United Nations humanitarian affairs office.
Over the weekend, an additional 50,000 people were displaced in northeastern Nigeria as the floods intensified, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) said on Monday.
“The situation in the Sahel and Lake Chad region is increasingly dire, as the compounding effects of conflict, displacement and climate change take a severe toll on vulnerable populations,” said Hassane Hamadou, NRC’s Central and West Africa regional director. The floods in West Africa come at a time of flooding in Europe after days of torrential rain that caused rivers to burst their banks in several parts of the region.
In a camp in Maiduguri, Borno’s state capital, Bintu Amadu was among hundreds of frustrated people waiting for hours to see a doctor because her son had diarrhea.
“We have not received any aid, and our attempts to see a doctor have been unsuccessful. We have been waiting for medical attention since yesterday, but to no avail,” she said.
Ramatu Yajubu was happy she had obtained an appointment card after waiting for days, but quickly added: “I am uncertain about receiving attention due to the overwhelming number of people seeking care.”
Mathias Goemaere, a field coordinator for Medecins Sans Frontieres, said that even before the floods, residents in Borno were struggling with malnutrition, following years of an Islamist insurgency that has driven people from their farms.
“They are exposed to their environment, so what do we see? A lot of waterborne diseases, diarrhea, diarrheal diseases ... Malaria is around with a lot of mosquitoes,” Goemaere told Reuters.
“So a lot of people, because of malnutrition, are immuno-suppressed, which makes them more susceptible to diseases.”
Nigeria’s government has separately warned of rising water levels in the country’s largest rivers, the Benue and Niger, which could cause floods in the oil-producing Niger Delta region in the south.
Central European flooding widens as death toll rises
- First Czech death report as toll in central Europe rises, Czech town Litovel submerged in water overnight
- Polish government meets to decide state of disaster
JESENIK: More rivers in central Europe burst their banks on Monday and the number of deaths increased from the worst flooding in at least two decades, with some authorities starting to count the costs and others preparing for waters rising further.
Border areas between the Czech Republic and Poland were hit hard over the weekend as heavy rain seen since last week and surging water levels collapsed some bridges, forced evacuations and left a trail of destruction.
At least 15 people have died in flooding from Austria to Romania.
Poland’s government was due to meet on Monday to call a state of disaster.
Michal Piszko, mayor of the Polish town of Klodzko along the Czech border, said waters had receded there but help was needed.
“We need bottled water and dry provisions, because we have also set up a point for flood victims evacuated from flooded areas,” he told private broadcaster RMF FM.
“Children will not go to school until the end of the week. At the moment, half of the city has no electricity.”
Polish Education Minister Barbara Nowacka said that around 420 schools across four provinces had been closed. In the town of Nysa a hospital was evacuated.
In the Czech town of Jesenik, across the Polish border where floods ripped through the town on Sunday, clean-up was starting after waters receded to show damaged cars and debris left on streets.
In eastern Romania, where villages and towns were submerged over the weekend, Emil Dragomir, mayor of Slobozia Conachi, told television station Digi24 the flooding had devastating impact.
“If you were here you would cry instantly because people are desperate, their whole lives’ work is gone, there were people who were left with just the clothes they had on,” he said.
Preparation
While rivers in the Czech-Polish border area were starting to recede on Monday, flooding was widening and leaving bigger cities on alert.
Jacek Sutryk, mayor of Poland’s Wroclaw, said the city of some 600,000 was preparing water levels peaking on Wednesday.
“This high wave will pass through Wroclaw for several days,” he said.
In the Czech Republic, a rising Morava River overnight put Litovel, a city 230 km (140 miles) east of the capital Prague with a population of nearly 10,000, around 70 percent under water and shut down schools and health facilities, its mayor said in a video on Facebook.
Flooded parts of northeastern Czech regional capital Ostrava forced closures of a power plant supplying heat and hot water to the city as well as two chemical plants.
More than 12,000 people have been evacuated in the Czech Republic. A quarter of a million Czech households had been without power over the weekend although that figure had fallen to 118,000 on Monday, CTK news agency reported.
In Romania, the flooding killed six people over the weekend. An Austrian firefighter died on Sunday. In Lower Austria two men aged 70 and 80 were found drowned in their homes, a police spokesperson said on Monday.
State news agency PAP reported five deaths in Poland and in the Czech Republic one person died, a police official said.
Danube also rises
Hungarian Interior Minister Sandor Pinter said the government in Budapest was fully prepared to act and efforts for the time being focused on keeping the Danube River and its tributaries within their banks.
Pinter said up to 12,000 soldiers were on standby to help if needed.
Slovakia’s capital Bratislava and Hungarian capital Budapest were both preparing as the River Danube rose.
In Austria, the levels of rivers and reservoirs fell overnight as rain eased but officials said they were bracing for a second wave as heavier rain was expected in the coming hours.
Ukraine asks UN, ICRC to join humanitarian effort in Russia’s Kursk region
- Last week, Russian shelling killed three Ukrainians working for the ICRC and wounded two others in a village in the frontline Donetsk region
KYIV: Ukraine said on Monday it had asked the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to join humanitarian efforts in Russia’s Kursk region following a cross-border incursion by Ukrainian forces.
Ukraine’s army remains in the Kursk region more than a month after launching the assault, in which President Volodymyr Zelensky says Kyiv has taken control of about 100 settlements.
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said he had instructed his ministry to formally invite the UN and ICRC to work in the Kursk region when he visited the northeast Ukrainian region of Sumy on Sunday. The ministry confirmed that it had issued the requests.
“Ukraine is ready to facilitate their work and prove its adherence to international humanitarian law,” Sybiha said on X after the visit to Sumy, from where Ukrainian forces launched the cross-borer attack.
He said the Ukrainian army was ensuring humanitarian assistance and safe passage to civilians in the Kursk region.
The Foreign Ministry said in a written statement that the invitations had been issued to the ICRC and UN, “taking into account the humanitarian situation and the need to properly ensure basic human rights in the territory of the Kursk region.”
The ministry said it had asked the ICRC to monitor Ukraine’s compliance with the principles of international humanitarian law in accordance with the Geneva Conventions, which cover the protection of victims of international armed conflicts.
Moscow, which invaded Ukraine in 2022, did not immediately comment on the invitations. It was not immediately clear how or whether the UN or ICRC had responded.
Russia’s state-run RIA news agency reported on Monday that ICRC President Mirjana Spoljaric had arrived on a visit to Moscow and planned to meet Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
Last week, Russian shelling killed three Ukrainians working for the ICRC and wounded two others in a village in the frontline Donetsk region, Ukrainian officials said. Spoljaric has condemned the attacks.
Breton steps down as France’s EU commissioner, criticizing von der Leyen
- Breton, one of the highest-profile members of the European Commission for the past five years
- Each EU member state will have one seat at the Commission’s table
PARIS/BRUSSELS: Thierry Breton of France stepped down as a member of the European Commission on Monday and said he would no longer be his country’s candidate for the next EU executive body, in an unexpected twist in the highly political EU power transition.
Breton, one of the highest-profile members of the European Commission for the past five years, is best known for sparring publicly with tech billionaire Elon Musk and playing a key role in shaping the 27-nation EU’s Big Tech regulation, its COVID-vaccine response and efforts to boost defense industries.
A former French minister and industrialist, Breton announced his resignation on X as Commission President Ursula von der Leyen prepares to announce this week who will be part of her new five-year team.
In his resignation letter, Breton alleged that von der Leyen “a few days ago” had asked France to withdraw his name as its pick for the Commission “for personal reasons” in return for an “allegedly more influential portfolio.”
He said France would indeed suggest another name in a rare last-minute change.
“In light of these latest developments — further testimony to questionable governance — I have to conclude that I can no longer exercise my duties in the College,” Breton said in the letter.
Reuters was unable to immediately verify the allegation. Von der Leyen’s office declined to make any immediate comment.
Breton, a former business executive, was the EU’s industry and internal market commissioner during her first term.
His and von der Leyen’s relationship had taken a turn for the worse over recent months. The French commissioner, a liberal, had angered von der Leyen by publicly criticizing her nomination as the European conservative EPP’s party candidate to head the Commission for a second term, EU officials have said.
Breton’s public feuds with Musk had also been met with dismay among other Commission colleagues, officials added.
Key jobs
As the EU’s second-biggest member state, France is vying for a major post in the new Commission team, which follows on European Parliament elections in June — the starting point every five years for a shake-up of key jobs in EU institutions that have a major impact on policymaking across the bloc.
Each EU member state will have one seat at the Commission’s table, although their political weight and importance varies greatly depending on the portfolio.
Having to replace Breton is likely to add to French President Emmanuel Macron’s woes at a time when he is still trying to pull together a government at home with new Prime Minister Michel Barnier.
The French presidency did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.
Italy backs EU’s Chinese tariffs, foreign minister says
- Minister Wang Wentao is visiting Europe for discussions on the European Union’s anti-subsidy case against China-made EVs as the vote on more tariffs looms
MILAN: Italy backs tariffs proposed by the European Commission on Chinese exports of electric vehicles (EVs), Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Monday before a meeting in Rome with China’s commerce minister.
“We support the duties that the EU Commission proposes, to protect the competitiveness of our companies,” Tajani told daily Corriere della Sera in an interview.
Minister Wang Wentao is visiting Europe for discussions on the European Union’s anti-subsidy case against China-made EVs as the vote on more tariffs looms.
He was meeting Tajani on Monday morning and will hold talks with the European Commission’s Executive Vice President and Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis on Sept. 19.
“We want to work on a trade plan based on equality, we demand equal access for our products in their markets. Our companies must compete on equal terms,” Tajani added.
Italy is aiming for a “climate of positive cooperation, and real reciprocity to avoid dumping and obstacles from Beijing, that at times are incomprehensible,” he said.
Italy initially supported tariffs in a non-binding vote of EU members in July but Industry Minister Adolfo Urso told Reuters last week that he expected a negotiated solution.
Italy remains a major carmaker, home to brands including Fiat, part of the Stellantis group. It has also been seeking to woo Chinese carmakers including Dongfeng and Chery Auto to open factories in order to raise vehicle output.
Tajani added that his position did not compromise Italy’s “good relations” with China.
At the end of July Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni visited China, to boost co-operation with the world’s second-largest economy and reset trade ties after leaving the Belt and Road infrastructure investment scheme.
President Sergio Mattarella is scheduled to visit China later this year, with Tajani part of the delegation, the minister said.
The European Commission is on the brink of proposing final tariffs of up to 35.3 percent on EVs built in China, on top of the EU’s standard 10 percent car import duty.
The proposed duties will be subject to a vote by the EU’s 27 members. They will be implemented by the end of October unless a qualified majority of 15 EU members representing 65 percent of the EU population vote against them.
