The Mysterious Secret Life of France’s Controversial Prime Minister - The American Spectator | USA News and Politics
The Mysterious Secret Life of France’s Controversial Prime Minister
by

Élisabeth Borne, la  Secrète
By Bérengère Bonte
(L’Archipel, 240 pages, $28)

There’s no better promotional vehicle than controversy and scandal. Given this, journalist Bérengère Bonte’s timely provocative book about France’s current prime minister, Élisabeth Borne, la Secrète (Élisabeth Borne, the Secretive One), stands to become a bestseller.

Borne is only the second female prime minister in France’s history, following Édith Cresson, who served in President François Mitterrand’s administration from 1991 to 1992. Currently a member of President Emmanuel Macron’s centrist Renaissance party, Borne has flirted with socialism throughout her career without formally joining the party. Macron reportedly selected her as prime minister because of her gender and leftist perspective. (RELATED: Macronizing Should Be Punishable)

Recent polling reveals that only 30 percent of French citizens are satisfied with Borne’s performance, a 17-point drop over the previous year. Furthermore, 62 percent surveyed think that she should be replaced. Borne’s declining popularity is primarily due to France’s recent decision to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.  Borne is also perceived as being out of touch with the needs of the French people.  Macron, whose approval rating has also plummeted to 32 percent, publicly decried Borne’s recent comments describing members of Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party as descendants of Philippe Pétain, the World War II general later found guilty of treason. Although Macron has since stated that he has full confidence in Borne’s leadership, rumors of her ouster persist. On June 6, it was announced that her chief of staff, Aurélien Rousseau, will be vacating his position around July 1, adding more grist to the rumor mill. (READ MORE: Perilous April in Paris)

Borne has ignited additional controversy by suing L’Archipel, the publisher of Bonte’s la Secrète, for violating her privacy, and demanding that certain content be removed from future editions. The prime minister, who is the divorced mother of an adult son, takes umbrage at the book’s speculation that she is a homosexual. She also takes issue with its intimation that she suffers from an eating disorder. Borne is seeking a symbolic 5,001 euros in damages. The case is expected to receive a ruling in late June.

Bonte, who conducted multiple interviews with the prime minister as part of her research for the book, was completely stunned by the lawsuit:

My editor and I are amazed. This decision is incomprehensible and undoubtedly constitutes a precedent in our political life. I’m not sure that a President of the Republic or a Prime Minister has ever called for the withdrawal of a book or passages from a book. The summons is all the more surprising since Elisabeth Borne had the book in hand ten days before its publication, that good sheets were published in the press and this had not aroused any reaction. In any case, if she wanted to justify the title, ‘La Secrète’, which I gave to her biography, she succeeded.

The chapter entitled “La Couverture” (“The Cover-Up”) ruminates about Borne’s sexual orientation. Bonte maintains that Borne is perceived to be a lesbian for a combination of reasons, one being that one of her first tweets as prime minister was dedicated to supporting the LGBTQ community:

En cette journée mondiale de lutte contre les LGBTphobias, je veux dire à  toutes le personnes LGBT+ qu’elles trouveront en moi et mon Gouvernment un allié pour défendre leurs droits et lutter contre toutes les discriminations.

On this World Day against LGBT phobias, I want to tell the LGBT+ community that they will find in me and my government an ally who will defend their rights and fight against all discrimination.

The prime minister’s practice of limiting social encounters to colleagues and female friends has also fueled homosexual rumors.  Borne has publicly stated that if she were a homosexual, she doesn’t see why she would not have said so. She has additionally commented that she has a male companion who lives in Brittany but does not wish to expose him to public scrutiny. Bonte elaborates on the media’s speculation that Borne’s secret companion is the writer Patrice Obert. However, she also claims that Obert’s Facebook postings indicate that he is in a relationship with a woman other than Borne, further advancing a cover-up narrative.

Bonte — who also wrote a biography of Édouard Philippe, Macron’s prime minister from 2017 to 2020 — did an extensive amount of research on her subject, including interviews with past colleagues and friends. The author creates a vivid portrait of Borne’s early years, which were punctuated by the suicide of her father Joseph (né Bornstein), a Holocaust survivor, when she was only 11 years old. Since her father’s death left her mother a widow with two children and little income, Borne received state funding for her education. She would eventually study engineering at the prestigious École Polytechnique and receive a degree in engineering from École des Ponts ParisTech, along with an MBA from Collège des Ingénieurs.

Borne’s road to Matignon included several government positions — such as minister of labor, minister of ecology, and minister of transportation — along with several private-sector stints, most notably the presidency of the RATP Group, which oversees public-transportation systems in France. Throughout her career, Borne has consistently been described by past supervisors, co-workers, and staff members as a bosseuse (hard worker). And while her consummate dedication to her work has garnered her praise, she has a reputation for being a demanding boss who overworks her staff. There have also been multiple reports of staff members exiting her office in tears. Her strong opinions and direct personality have at times put her at odds with the top brass, including her mentor, former Prime Minister Lionel Jospin, who she has since publicly criticized for his implementation of the 35-hour work week. Borne also did not get along with former Minister of Ecology Ségolène Royal, for whom she served as chief of staff. Both Jospin and Royal declined to be interviewed for the book.

Yet underneath her tough outer shell, Borne has a soft interior. And Bonte does an excellent job of extracting it. The author describes Borne’s excellent sense of humor and her love of music, novels, and sunbathing. She also takes us behind the scenes and lets us see the seemingly aloof prime minister relaxing with her proches (loved ones). One of Borne’s favorite pastimes is window shopping for clothes with her friends, and she has continued the practice since her installation, albeit now with a security detail. She also relishes casual get-togethers, including school-girl-like pajama parties.

Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne is a highly accomplished, hardworking, and — yes — controversial and mysterious public servant. Bérengère Bonte marvelously unpacks the real woman behind the public persona. And while her future in the Macron administration remains to be seen, la Secrète is well worth the read.

Leonora Cravotta
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Leonora Cravotta is Director of Operations with The American Spectator, a position she previously held at The American Conservative. She also co-hosts a show on Red State Talk Radio. She previously held marketing positions with JPMorgan Chase and TD Bank and additionally served as Director of Development for an award-winning charter school in Philadelphia. Leonora received a BA in English/French from Denison University, an MA in English from the University of Kentucky, and an MBA in Marketing from Fordham University. She writes about literature and popular culture.
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