Second Philippe government | |
---|---|
41st Government of French Fifth Republic | |
Date formed | 19 June 2017 |
Date dissolved | 3 July 2020 |
People and organisations | |
President of the Republic | Emmanuel Macron |
Prime Minister | Édouard Philippe |
Ministers of State |
|
Total no. of members | Ministers: 19 Secretaries of State: 12 |
Member parties | REM–MoDem–MR–Agir |
Status in legislature | Majority 370 / 577 (64%) |
History | |
Election | 2017 |
Predecessor | Philippe I |
Successor | Castex |
The second Philippe government (French: gouvernement Édouard Philippe II) was the forty-first government of the French Fifth Republic. It was the second government formed by Édouard Philippe under President Emmanuel Macron, following the 2017 legislative election and the dissolution of the first Philippe government on 19 June 2017.
The second Philippe government was formed following scandal among ministers during the first Philippe government. La République En Marche! (REM) allies Democratic Movement (MoDem) were facing scandal following allegations that the party used EU funds to pay party workers.[1] Armed Forces Minister Sylvie Goulard was the first to step down, resigning on 20 June 2017.[2] The following day, Minister of Justice François Bayrou and European Affairs Minister, Marielle de Sarnez stepped down.[3] Richard Ferrand, Minister of Territorial Cohesion, stepped down on 19 June 2017 following Le Canard Enchaîné publishing allegations of nepotism on 24 May 2017.[4] Macron defended Ferrand despite the allegations and public polling showing that 70% of respondents wanted Ferrand to step down.[5] On 1 July 2017, a regional prosecutor announced that authorities had launched a preliminary investigation into Ferrand.[6] Ferrand responded to the allegations saying everything was "legal, public and transparent".[7][8] He was one of the founding members of La République En Marche! and served as President of the National Assembly until losing his parliamentary seat in the 2022 elections.[9]
On 31 July 2018, the second Philippe government survived two motions of no confidence following the Benalla affair: the first one (entered by The Republicans group) obtained 103 ayes, while the second (entered by the groups New Left, Democratic Republican Left and La France Insoumise) obtained 63 votes. Both motions did not reach the quorum of 289 votes required in the National Assembly.[10]
On 13 December 2018, a third motion of no confidence was initiated by the Socialist Party, the French Communist Party and La France Insoumise following the yellow vests movement but there were only 70 votes in favour.[11]
Until the departure of François de Rugy, there was gender parity in the second Philippe government, with 18 women and 18 men, including the Prime Minister. Since de Rugy's replacement with Élisabeth Borne in July 2019, there have been more women (18) than men (17) in the government. They are, however, over-represented among the Secretaries of State (9 women, 6 men), and less present at the head of full-fledged ministries (9 women, 10 men).[12]