One thing is certain: there will be a radical change of style on the Place Vendôme. It will no longer be Eric Dupond-Moretti, 63, a former criminal lawyer with an optimistic temperament, who appreciates oratorical jousting, who will occupy the post of Minister of Justice. The new Keeper of the Seals – with a very “public finance” profile – is much less rough around the edges: Didier Migaud, 72, former socialist, former president of the Court of Auditors, was, since 2020, president of the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life (HATVP). An important symbol, his name was the first mentioned in the protocol during the government announcement on Saturday afternoon.
The magistrates’ union (USM, majority) welcomed this appointment without hostility, unlike Mr. Dupond-Moretti in July 2020. The union then described the lawyer’s arrival at the Chancellery as “declaration of war”. “Didier Migaud has an idea of how justice works from his former position at the head of the Court of Auditors. His place in the order of protocol is an interesting indicator of the priorities that the government intends to give to legal actions, explains Ludovic Friat, president of USM. We need these symbols because we are concerned about the structure of the Prime Minister’s office, where justice does not have an independent pole. The fear is that justice will be complicit with the interior. »
The break with the former Minister of Justice is, in fact, multiple. Thus, Eric Dupond-Moretti was accused of conflicts of interest when, a few weeks after his appointment to Place Vendôme, he ordered the General Inspectorate of Justice to carry out administrative investigations against magistrates with whom he had had disagreements when he was Minister. Lawyer. There was even a trial before the Court of Justice of the Republic, after which Mr Dupond-Moretti was acquitted. His successor, for his part, was responsible for locating possible conflicts of interest within the HATVP.
Other notable differences: while Dupond-Moretti was a political novice, Migaud has a full CV. Member of the Isère Socialist Party in 1988 (until 2010), mayor of Seyssins in the same department (1995-2010), regional councillor between 1986 and 1988, president of Grenoble-Alpes Métropole from 1995 to 2010… He also held important positions in the Assembly (general rapporteur of the budget between 1997 and 2002; quaestor between 2002 and 2007; president of the finance commission between 2007 and 2010). In addition, Dupond-Moretti had managed to have real political weight, winning arbitrations. It remains to be seen whether Migaud will also succeed in influencing the balance of power in the government, in particular against the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau.
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