Former minister Eric Woerth has announced his departure from his parliamentary seat in the French National Assembly after more than 20 years, to focus on his candidacy for the PMU presidency. The extension of his government mission led to the automatic end of his deputy mandate. He will be replaced by his alternate Véronique Ludmann.
Eric Woerth, deputy for Oise first elected over 20 years ago, informed AFP on February 27 that he was leaving the National Assembly to run for the PMU presidency. This follows a government mission assigned in September to reform PMU governance, recently extended beyond six months, automatically ending his parliamentary mandate.
"I will be more useful to the PMU (…) rather than being a deputy lost in a non-majority," Woerth stated. His appointment as PMU president requires approval from the general assembly, possibly within the next ten to fifteen days. Given his ministerial role less than three years ago – briefly in the Lecornu government – the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life (HATVP) must conduct checks.
A former member of The Republicans (LR), Woerth held several ministerial positions under Nicolas Sarkozy, including budget, civil service, and labor. He was cleared in the case of Libyan financing for Sarkozy's 2007 campaign. In the Assembly, he chaired the finance committee from June 2017 to June 2022, including during the Covid-19 crisis, which he called "almost surrealistic" as efforts focused on "holding the economy together."
Woerth expresses regret over leaving the Palais Bourbon, where he has "many friends," but criticizes the current institution: "It's a bit like driving a car on ice. You're not sure of holding the trajectory. (…) That doesn't mean it's not advancing, but every meter risks a skid." He highlights violent debates and a sense of "political impotence" from the fragmentation of political groups. However, he clarifies this is not a full exit from politics: "I will continue to try to help whoever truly wants to be president of the Republic," without specifying a preference among the "four or five candidates for the right and center," all "eminent" in his view.
Véronique Ludmann, his alternate, will join the Renaissance group in the Assembly.
