“The closer we get to the presidential election, the more there’ll be an atmosphere of winding down, which is very normal, I’m aware of it,” Lecornu said in an interview with Le Figaro last weekend.
Deputies depart
Two of Moulin’s deputies, Emilie Piette and Constance Bensussan, are among those on their way out. Piette is off to head the RTE electricity network agency and Bensussan is moving to France’s CNAF benefits agency.
And shortly before the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran began, Macron’s top Middle East adviser, Anne-Claire Legendre, left in February to head the Arab World Institute, replacing Jack Lang, who had resigned over his ties to the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Legendre has been lauded internally as having led the diplomatic efforts behind France’s push for the recognition of a Palestinian state.
An aide to Macron said leading the Bank of France is Moulin’s dream job, but getting the gig will be tough given he’d need approval from parliament, where Macron lacks a majority.
“They want to block [the nomination] just to piss Macron off,” said an ally of the French president.
Jean-Pierre Jouyet, who served as chief of staff under former President François Hollande, said a spate of departures like this is “serious and it can change the relationships within the cabinet.”