They achieved a first success necessary to keep their position. Elisabeth Borne, Olivier Dussopt and Damien Abad, respectively Prime Minister, Minister of Labor and Minister of Solidarity, qualified on Sunday June 12 in the first round of the legislative elections.
Including Elisabeth Borne, fifteen members of the government appointed on May 20 are in the running – at the risk of losing their posts. As in 2017, the rule imposed by the Elysée indeed wants a minister beaten at the ballot box to leave the government.
The first results
The first member of the government to qualify for the second round was the Secretary of State for the Sea, Justine Benin. This obtained 31.31% of the votes in the 2nd constituency of Guadeloupe, which voted on Saturday, according to a final count communicated Sunday morning, Paris time. The outgoing MP, invested by the presidential coalition Together!, is ahead of the various left candidate Christian Baptiste, who won 26.76% of the vote.
Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne was a candidate in the 6th constituency of Calvados, where she has family ties. The former prefect, never elected, will face Noé Gauchard (La France insoumise, Nupes) in the second round on June 19.
Olivier Dussopt, appointed Minister of Labour, Full Employment and Integration on May 20, came out on top in the 2nd constituency of Ardèche, with 30.04% of the vote, according to the final results. He will be opposed to a Nupes candidate, Christophe Goulouzelle, who came second with 23.58% of the vote.
The Minister of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty, Marc Fesneau and Damien Abad, the former president of the Les Républicains (LR) group in the National Assembly who became Minister of Solidarity, will also face Nupes candidates.
The Minister of Health and Prevention, Brigitte Bourguignon, will face the National Rally (RN) candidate Christine Engrand, in the 6th constituency of Pas-de-Calais.
Uncertainty in big cities
For the time being, the results for some constituencies – especially in the big cities, where polling stations closed at 8 p.m. – are not yet known.
Three ministers presented themselves in Paris: Clément Beaune, Minister Delegate in charge of Europe and “macroniste” of the first hour, in the 7th district, which brings together part of the 11th and 12th arrondissements, Stanislas Guerini, new Minister of the function public, in the 3rd district, straddling the 17th and 18th arrondissements, as well as Olivia Grégoire, secretary of state and government spokesperson, candidate in the 12th district, which overlaps part of the 7th arrondissement.
