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| France Has a New Government, but Not Much Has Changed | France Has a New Government, but Not Much Has Changed |
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| PARIS — So much for change. | PARIS — So much for change. |
| For weeks, even months, France had been awaiting a government reshuffle — the standard response of French presidents when they find themselves in a tight spot. | |
| President François Hollande, whose popularity has been in a nose dive since he took office in 2012, hit that critical moment on March 30, when his Socialist Party was pummeled in nationwide municipal elections. It lost control of 155 towns across the country, and its overall vote (40 percent) was just a few points above a record abstention rate (36 percent). | President François Hollande, whose popularity has been in a nose dive since he took office in 2012, hit that critical moment on March 30, when his Socialist Party was pummeled in nationwide municipal elections. It lost control of 155 towns across the country, and its overall vote (40 percent) was just a few points above a record abstention rate (36 percent). |
| These devastating results were widely seen not just as a slap at Mr. Hollande’s leadership, but also as pent-up frustration with an inbred political elite that seems to live in its own world — many politicians are either products of the elite schools that churn out members of France’s nomenklatura, or are apparatchiks from its major political parties. | |
| So it was no surprise when Mr. Hollande on March 31 went on national TV to announce he was changing his prime minister, a prerogative of France’s presidents. He had heard the “message” of the French people, he said. “Not enough change” topped a list of woes that includes too few jobs, too many taxes, no growth and no hope. | So it was no surprise when Mr. Hollande on March 31 went on national TV to announce he was changing his prime minister, a prerogative of France’s presidents. He had heard the “message” of the French people, he said. “Not enough change” topped a list of woes that includes too few jobs, too many taxes, no growth and no hope. |
| Two days later, France had a new government — but not much change. Yes, there is a new prime minister — Manuel Valls, 51, who is younger, more dynamic and more exotic (born in Spain, he became French at the age of 20) than his predecessor, Jean-Marc Ayrault, 64. And the number of ministers shrank, to 16 from 21, to make up a “government of combat,” as Mr. Hollande put it. | Two days later, France had a new government — but not much change. Yes, there is a new prime minister — Manuel Valls, 51, who is younger, more dynamic and more exotic (born in Spain, he became French at the age of 20) than his predecessor, Jean-Marc Ayrault, 64. And the number of ministers shrank, to 16 from 21, to make up a “government of combat,” as Mr. Hollande put it. |
| There are several ways to analyze the composition of the Valls government: a nuanced equilibrium across the widening spectrum of the Socialist Party, a balance of friends-of-Hollande versus friends-of-Valls, and divided between eight men and eight women. Missing in the equation are representatives of the Greens, who are a key ally of the Socialists but quit the government in a huff. | There are several ways to analyze the composition of the Valls government: a nuanced equilibrium across the widening spectrum of the Socialist Party, a balance of friends-of-Hollande versus friends-of-Valls, and divided between eight men and eight women. Missing in the equation are representatives of the Greens, who are a key ally of the Socialists but quit the government in a huff. |
| Political calibrations are normal, but what’s most striking about the new team is how old it is. All but two of its members were in the previous government; many have just changed portfolios. | Political calibrations are normal, but what’s most striking about the new team is how old it is. All but two of its members were in the previous government; many have just changed portfolios. |
| And the two new ministers are hardly newcomers — François Rebsamen, a senator who was Mr. Hollande’s longtime deputy at Socialist Party headquarters, is now labor minister, and Ségolène Royal, a former Socialist presidential candidate and mother of Mr. Hollande’s four children, is now minister of ecology, a job she already held 22 years ago, when she really was a fresh face. | And the two new ministers are hardly newcomers — François Rebsamen, a senator who was Mr. Hollande’s longtime deputy at Socialist Party headquarters, is now labor minister, and Ségolène Royal, a former Socialist presidential candidate and mother of Mr. Hollande’s four children, is now minister of ecology, a job she already held 22 years ago, when she really was a fresh face. |
| Both already held top political jobs — Mr. Rebsamen was just re-elected mayor of Dijon, and Ms. Royal is head of the Poitou-Charentes region. Technically, they were not obliged to give up those positions, but both did. | Both already held top political jobs — Mr. Rebsamen was just re-elected mayor of Dijon, and Ms. Royal is head of the Poitou-Charentes region. Technically, they were not obliged to give up those positions, but both did. |
| The “accumulation of mandates” is a French peculiarity. Today, more than 60 percent of the members of the National Assembly hold local elected jobs; 11 ministers last month ran for mayor — this despite Mr. Hollande’s campaign promise to make his government ministers control their political appetites and stay focused on their main jobs. | The “accumulation of mandates” is a French peculiarity. Today, more than 60 percent of the members of the National Assembly hold local elected jobs; 11 ministers last month ran for mayor — this despite Mr. Hollande’s campaign promise to make his government ministers control their political appetites and stay focused on their main jobs. |
| Naturally, it was Ms. Royal’s return that has captured the headlines — not because she’s an enduring figure in Socialist Party politics but because for 29 years, she was the other half of a power couple that began their political career in tandem, right after graduation from ENA, France’s higher school of administration. | Naturally, it was Ms. Royal’s return that has captured the headlines — not because she’s an enduring figure in Socialist Party politics but because for 29 years, she was the other half of a power couple that began their political career in tandem, right after graduation from ENA, France’s higher school of administration. |
| For the last two years, Ms. Royal was shut out of government after Mr. Hollande moved his new partner, Valérie Trierweiler, into the Élysée Palace. | For the last two years, Ms. Royal was shut out of government after Mr. Hollande moved his new partner, Valérie Trierweiler, into the Élysée Palace. |
| Then last January, Ms. Trierweiler moved out, leaving an opening for Ms. Royal’s return, or as the French press has put it, “The Revenge of Royal.” | Then last January, Ms. Trierweiler moved out, leaving an opening for Ms. Royal’s return, or as the French press has put it, “The Revenge of Royal.” |
| It’s not clear whether these changes are what French voters had in mind when they cast their ballots, or stayed home, last month. | It’s not clear whether these changes are what French voters had in mind when they cast their ballots, or stayed home, last month. |