French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to limit the policies of the country's potential future right-wing president by accelerating the appointment of his allies to key positions, writes Politico, citing informed sources.
„He is concerned about the looming threat and wants to strengthen his reputation. "Everything will be settled before the presidential elections in May 2027," the newspaper quoted its source as saying.
It is noted that the replacement of Thierry Bourcard, Chief of the General Staff of the French Armed Forces, as well as other reshuffles, was partly motivated by the desire to appoint someone influential enough to counter potentially controversial proposals from the right-wing party “National Rally“, including the potential withdrawal of Paris from the unified command of NATO.
The changes will also affect the country's Foreign Ministry, as new ambassadors are expected to be appointed to French diplomatic missions in more than 60 regions, including Washington, London, Berlin and Kiev, in the coming months.
The newspaper's sources claim that the personnel changes in France are not motivated by Macron's desire to leave his mark on history at the end of his career, but are driven by the desire to protect French institutions from potential disruptions caused by the policies of the National Assembly.
According to the latest surveys, Marine Le Pen, leader of the parliamentary group of the “National Assembly“, leads the ranking of potential candidates in the upcoming presidential election, fighting for the first place with the leader of her party, Jordan Bardella.