Telecoms companies have the impression of not being loved by Michel Barnier’s government. Since the announcement of the Prime Minister’s team on September 21, the sector has been surprised to find no mention of them anywhere in the organisation. No trace of a minister delegate as was the case for Jean-Noël Barrot, in Elizabeth Borne’s first government, between May 2022 and July 2023. Not even a secretary of state for electronic communications, a position held by Cédric O, in Jean Castex’s team, between July 2020 and May 2022. Nothing.
This is certainly not the first time that telecommunications have disappeared from ministerial titles. Gabriel Attal’s government had already removed the mention in the official title of Marina Ferrari, the secretary of state in charge of digital technology. This was also the case for several previous governments, even before Emmanuel Macron’s election in 2017, but telecommunications were still part of the official mandate of digital ministers.
This time, Barnier’s government went a step further by cutting the link between digital technology and telecommunications, as online media reported. ContextOn September 24, the new Secretary of State for Artificial Intelligence and Digital Technology, Clara Chappaz, attached to the Ministry of Research, will deal exclusively with digital technology.
Telecommunications will remain in the Ministry of Economy, probably under the new Minister Delegate responsible for Industry, Marc Ferracci, but without any official confirmation for the moment. Questioned, Mr. Ferracci’s office simply explained that the decree concerning his powers should be published in Official Journal in the next few hours. “ Will the sector even have a technical advisor assigned to the firm?asks the director of a telecommunications operator, on condition of anonymity.
Progress remains to be made
“Faced with the great challenges of inclusion, competitiveness and sustainability, the sector is surprised by the minimal participation given to digital and the lack of consideration of the issue of telecommunications, which the new government does not seem to prioritize.”“This is the reaction of InfraNum, the federation of telecommunications infrastructure companies, and two associations of elected officials, Avicca (Association of Cities and Communities for Electronic and Audiovisual Communications) and the FNCCR (National Federation of Granting and Governing Communities), in a joint press release.”
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