France names Stéphane Séjourné as EU Commissioner after Breton quits

French President Emmanuel Macron has nominated outgoing foreign minister Stéphane Séjourné to become the country’s next European Commissioner, after Thierry Breton abruptly resigned from his post and withdrew his bid for a second term earlier on Monday.

In a statement, the Élysée Palace said that the decision was made “in accordance” with newly-appointed Prime Minister Michel Barnier, and confirmed France was angling for a “key” portfolio related to “industrial and technological sovereignty” and “European competitiveness.”

It adds that Séjourné’s prior experience, as chair of Macron’s centrist Renew Europe group in the European Parliament and as France’s Minister of Europe and foreign affairs, equips him to take the reins of such a prestigious portfolio.

Earlier on Monday, Thierry Breton, Macron’s man in Brussels who has served as European Commissioner for the internal market since 2019, withdrew his re-election bid after what he described as efforts by Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen to pressure France to replace him “for personal reasons.”

Breton claims von der Leyen offered a more influential portfolio for Breton’s potential replacement “as a political trade-off,” firing accusations of “questionable governance” towards the Commission President.

Both have a history of a tumultuous working relationship, with Breton lashing out against von der Leyen’s centre-right political faction, the European People’s Party (EPP), earlier this year and implying the President had lost the trust of her own political allies.

On Monday, the Commission refrained from commenting on Breton’s allegations that von der Leyen had personally set out to prevent his re-nomination. The claims have drawn fierce condemnation even from Macron’s political rivals in France.

Fabien Roussel, the secretary of the French Communist Party, described von der Leyen’s alleged efforts to convince Macron to replace Breton with an alternative as “scandalous’ and accused the Commission chief of suppressing France’s sovereignty and “hitting rock bottom.”

Roussel is aligned with the left-wing New Popular Front (NPF) coalition which narrowly won France’s snap legislative election in July, and which has been severely critical of the Macron-led coalition for its appointment of Michel Barnier as the French Prime Minister.

Commission appointment risks delays

Ursula von der Leyen is understood to have lobbied several small member states to replace male Commissioner candidates with women to support her efforts to ensure gender parityin her team over recent weeks.

All but one EU capital spurned von der Leyen’s explicit request for two candidates, one male and one female, in order to give her leeway in appointing a gender-balanced team. Only countries whose outgoing Commissioners were bidding for a second term – including France – were not asked to table two candidates representing each gender.

It remains unclear whether von der Leyen also attempted to influence President Macron’s nomination as part of her efforts to ensure gender balance.

On Monday, a Commission spokesperson would not be drawn to comment on the “confidential exchanges” von der Leyen has engaged in since the deadline for Commissioner nominations formally ended on August 30.

Breton’s surprise withdrawal had threatened to throw the process of appointing the next EU executive into further disarray.

Political infighting in Slovenia means the government’s candidate, Marta Kos, has still not received the formal green light, potentially preventing von der Leyen from divvying up the portfolios. Slovenia’s right-wing opposition is up in arms after the original candidate, Tomaž Vesel, was allegedly forced to withdraw his bid amid pressure from von der Leyen for a female alternative.

It remains uncertain whether von der Leyen will be able to unveil her nominated team in a meeting with the European Parliament’s political leaders on Tuesday, despite a Commission spokesperson insisting on Monday that the meeting will still take place.

Nominated Commissioners must undergo a parliamentary hearing and confirmation vote before they can be installed in their roles, meaning the formation of the next Commission could be delayed past the original target of early November.