Cited behind the scenes as one of the favorites considered by the executive to head the majority list during the June election, Julien Denormandie, Minister of Agriculture between 2020 and 2022, once again publicly excluded this hypothesis , Tuesday, January 13. “No, that’s not news at all. This is not a question on the table today,” declared Mr. Denormandie at the microphone of Sud Radio, while the presidential camp is dragging its feet in appointing its leader.

“Today I have other commitments, for the benefit of the climate in an entrepreneurial project, for the benefit of impact finance (…). I am very happy with these new commitments. I think we can serve the general interest in other ways than just through politics,” explained this early support from Emmanuel Macron.

While his name also circulated this winter for Matignon, Julien Denormandie affirmed that prime minister “is one of the functions that cannot be refused, I believe it very sincerely”. The former minister of cities and housing (2018-2020) then of agriculture, now withdrawn into the private sector, has many supporters in the presidential majority. He reappears in the media on the occasion of the publication of an essay that he co-wrote with academician Erik Orsenna, called Nourishing without devastating. Brief summary of globalization (Flammarion).

The National Rally leads in the polls

After the appointment of Gabriel Attal to Matignon at the beginning of January and a sequence of appointments of the entire government which lasted a month, the Macron camp must still nominate its head of list for the European elections in June, and the majority is suspended at the decision of the president.

In addition to that of Mr. Denormandie, several names are circulating, including that of MEP Valérie Hayer, who succeeded Stéphane Séjourné as president of the Renew (Renaissance) group in the European Parliament, or that of the now former spokesperson for the Olivier Véran government.

Four months before the election, the National Rally is still at the top of voting intentions ahead of the presidential majority, in the various opinion polls. In 2019, the Macron camp appointed its head of list, Nathalie Loiseau, in March. The RN came in first with 23.3% of the votes with a short lead over the presidential party (22.4%).