“It fell on me” : Stéphane Séjourné took advantage of a brief appearance before the French community in Athens on Monday 16 September to react to his surprise appointment as French Commissioner-designate to the European Commission. The news was announced a few hours earlier, as the Foreign Minister and his entourage were flying to the Greek capital, on the sidelines of a three-day express tour of Armenia, Greece and Moldova.
Emmanuel Macron warned Séjourné on Sunday evening that a turnaround was possible, given the clash between Ursula von der Leyen and the outgoing Commissioner, Thierry Breton, over the contours of the post. But it was not until Monday that the Head of State confirmed his choice, following a telephone call with the President of the Commission. The change of French candidate allows the former MEP to plan a return to Brussels, although he hopes, on the plane between Athens and Chisinau, “a little frustration” of not being able, as he had hoped with the support of Macron, to extend his mandate at the head of French diplomacy within the Barnier government.
His latest “news” trip, approved by the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, was intended to allow Mr. Séjourné, who had been very little visible this summer, to finally travel to three countries where his trip will have been delayed, even though they are at the heart of continental tensions, facing Russia, Azerbaijan or Turkey. At each stop, Séjourné tried to reassure his interlocutors, sometimes worried by the political turmoil in France and the prolonged absence of a government.
Negotiation skills
In the end, Mr Séjourné’s stay at the Foreign Ministry was a record-breaking brevity: eight months. A loyalist of Emmanuel Macron’s faithful, the European elected had replaced Catherine Colonna during the January reshuffle, becoming one of the shortest-serving incumbents of the portfolio, behind Michèle Alliot-Marie, under Nicolas Sarkozy.
Upon his arrival at the ministry, Stéphane Séjourné visited Ukraine and then, twice, Israel and the Arab countries. It is difficult to express an opinion on such major issues in such a short period of time, although his presence allowed the Head of State to have a close friend, very political, at the head of the ministry. Although he has a medium command of English, Séjourné, one of the few who knows the tenant of the Elysée and known for his negotiating skills, feels much more comfortable in Spanish, having spent part of his youth between Mexico, Spain and Argentina.
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