France’s next European commissioner: Breton out, Séjourné in

PARIS — Outgoing French Minister of Foreign Affairs Stéphane Séjourné will replace Thierry Breton as France’s nominee for European commissioner, the Elysée said in a statement.

Séjourné, who was appointed foreign minister in January, is a close ally to French President Emmanuel Macron and a longtime member of the president’s Renaissance party. He served as the head of the Renew group in the European Parliament before being named France’s top diplomat.

In its statement, the French presidency wrote that Séjourné meets “all the required criteria” for the job.

Breton stunned both Brussels and Paris with a shock resignation announcement Monday morning in which he accused his boss, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, of going behind his back and trying to convince Macron to ditch him in exchange for a more influential portfolio in the next Commission.  

Macron had nominated Breton to serve a second term at the Berlaymont after serving as the European commissioner for the internal market during the European Union’s last mandate. But France, a founding member of the EU and the bloc’s second-largest economy, had reportedly been unhappy with the job that was being offered to Breton this time around, according to French officials.

Calls intensified between Macron and von der Leyen last week, according to multiple people familiar with the conversations.

“The president of the Republic has always defended getting a key portfolio for its European commissioner. This is the meaning of its contacts with the president of the European Commission since her election,” the statement said.

Macron had been eyeing a large commission and the title of executive vice president for Breton. The French president also wanted Breton to have a portfolio that includes advancing Europe’s strategic autonomy — including on industrial policy and defense — according to French officials. But there were fears in Paris that Breton’s portfolio was being watered down.

However, according to a French diplomat familiar with talks between Macron and von der Leyen, those fears have now been allayed. “The French commissioner should get an executive vice president portfolio with the industry and the interior market, and financing instruments, in its direct remit as well as several commissioners under his authority,” said the French diplomat, who was granted anonymity to protect relationships.

Breton and von der Leyen have a notoriously fractious relationship that appears to have been a factor in his decision to resign. Breton posted his explosive resignation letter on X, in which he accused von der Leyen of “questionable governance” and having asked “France to withdraw my name — for personal reasons that in no instance you have discussed directly with me.”

Breton’s unexpected resignation could further delay the EU’s already messy post-election transition of power, which has been hamstrung by national politics and von der Leyen’s attempt to form a gender-balanced College of Commissioners. So far, countries including Slovenia and Romania have withdrawn male candidates under pressure from von der Leyen, replacing them with women.

With Séjourné off to Brussels once again, new Prime Minister Michel Barnier must now fill his spot at the Quai d’Orsay in France’s next government. Séjourné had been rumored to be among the outgoing ministers who might keep their jobs under Barnier, but several right-leaning politicians — including outgoing Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin — have reportedly been angling to take over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Eddy Wax contributed to this report from Brussels and Max Griera contributed from Strasbourg. This story has been updated.