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French President Emmanuel Macron has nominated his outgoing foreign minister as the country’s next EU commissioner, replacing Thierry Breton hours after he resigned from the bloc’s executive.
Stéphane Séjourné’s surprise nomination on Monday came after Breton, in his resignation letter, criticised a deal between Macron and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen for a more powerful position for France in return for swapping its candidate.
The switch comes less than 24 hours before von der Leyen was set to announce her new slate of commissioners, and is the latest disruption to hit her already troubled process of forming a team for the next five-year cycle.
Séjourné is a close ally of Macron’s, having previously led the liberal Renew group in the European parliament.
The Élysée said on Monday that Séjourné “meets all the required criteria” for the job, having served as Renew leader. “His commitment to Europe will allow him to fully carry the agenda for [European] sovereignty,” it said, adding that Macron had long pushed for greater European autonomy on issues such as industrial policy and competitiveness.
Replacing Breton with Séjourné was prepared in advance during private discussions between Macron and von der Leyen, according to two people briefed on the talks, as a means for France to get the best possible role in the next college of commissioners.
Breton’s resignation as one of the EU’s most prominent and outspoken commissioners — he oversaw industrial policy, defence and the bloc’s powerful Digital Services Act that regulates big tech companies — came with a personal jibe at von der Leyen for allegedly cooking up the deal without his knowledge.
“A few days ago . . . you asked France to withdraw my name — for personal reasons that in no instance you have discussed directly with me — and offered as a political trade-off an allegedly more influential portfolio for France,” he said in a letter to von der Leyen posted on X.
Von der Leyen’s actions were “further testimony to questionable governance” of the commission, Breton said, adding that he would resign immediately.
“What a lovely mess,” said one political ally of von der Leyen.
Breton provided no details of the “personal reasons” cited for von der Leyen’s alleged intervention during what he described as “the very final stretch of negotiations of the composition of the future college”, as the commissioners are collectively known in the EU.
It is up to von der Leyen to choose which countries receive which roles in the commission, and many big countries including France and Italy have been lobbying her for a powerful portfolio overseeing industrial and economic policies.
The resignation ends a tumultuous working relationship between von der Leyen and Breton, who often clashed over policies and rhetorical style. He had long chafed at what he saw as her heavy-handed approach to managing the commission, and reluctance to delegate power — or praise — to her commissioners.
Outgoing competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager told the Financial Times that “I have seen the news about Thierry Breton resigning”, adding that “reading his letter I do not recognise the picture that he’s painting. Not at all.”
An EU diplomat said there was “no love lost” between Breton and von der Leyen.
A commission spokesperson said von der Leyen “thanks [Breton] for his work during the mandate”. They declined to comment on the contents of his resignation letter or private discussions with Macron. A decision on who would take over Breton’s portfolio for the remainder of the term had not yet been taken, the spokesperson said.
Séjourné was put forward with the blessing of France’s newly named Prime Minister Michel Barnier, a conservative and the EU’s former Brexit negotiator is who trying to form a new government after inconclusive parliamentary elections this summer in France, the Élysée said.
Before Breton’s resignation and replacement by Séjourné as nominee, several countries had switched their initial candidates for the commission in response to von der Leyen’s pressure on them to nominate women in a bid to produce a gender-balanced college.
Von der Leyen was still planning to name her new team of commissioners on Tuesday, according to her spokesperson. All nominees, one from each of the EU’s 27 member states, must be approved by the European parliament before they can take up their posts.
Slovenia is yet to formally nominate its candidate for commissioner due to a domestic political spat.
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