On July 17, Emmanuel Macron tosecured to Elisabeth Borne that she would continue as prime minister. She did it via text message. curious method. It was, in any case, the first foretaste of an imminent partial remodeling. The next day, knowing what would happen in the next 48 hours, the President of the French Republic, cultivating the art of cruelty, invited all the ministers and secretaries of State to dinner at the Elysée, accompanied, if they so wished, by their consorts.
The instructions they received were clear: the evening had to take place in a relaxed atmosphere, typical of a course that is ending. Did the participants really believe it?
Many allege that other ancestors also practiced the custom of summer dinner.
Even François Mitterrand, Master of cruelty, on May 10, 1991, he invited his then prime minister, and main enemy within the Socialist Party, Michel Rocard to dine in the company of his wife and join some banquets in which the rest of the diners hated him as much or more than the head of state himself. The peculiar guest of honor fell into the trap: “he had never been so nice to my wife,” he commented. Five days later, he was unceremoniously fired.
The remodeling
But it was a single person. Did she need to enjoy Macron with the presence of the husbands, wives, boyfriends and girlfriends of a dozen ministers who were about to strike down? The remodeling finally arrived on July 20 in the mid-afternoon. It was not in itself a surprise: it was known that the pillars of the Borne government –Bruno Le Maire in Economy, Gerald Darmanin in Indoors, Eric Dupon––Moretti in Justice and Sebastien Lecornu in Defense – would keep their portfolios and that gabriel attalrising star of the “macronía”, would be awarded with a larger ministry, which turned out to be that of National Education.
However, Macron surprised again in its forms: according to the tradition consolidated in France over the last half century, when a major remodeling takes place, the Secretary General of the Presidency of the Republic solemnizes the moment by announcing the appointment of the new ministers from the steps of the Elysée.
This time it was the winners and the victims of the remodeling who personally leaked their new situation to the media. Why not, the supporters of permanent innovation will say. But it is a new step in the loss of mystique of the presidential institution, irretrievably trivialized since the mandate of Nicolas Sarkozy.
Macron will complete his week of extravagances today by granting from New Caledonia, the main French possession in the South Pacific located 20,000 kilometers from Paris, the interview that public opinion has been waiting for since July 14, the day of the National holidayan occasion habitually used by the Élysée tenants to offer important political news.
Macron’s pulse
From this behavior it can be deduced, from a strictly short-term perspective, that the struggle between the president and his prime minister regarding the remodeling, latent for several weeks, had not ended on July 14; or that it was delayed by the outbreak of violent riots in the banlieues.
More worrisome – and risky, for the moment – would be to interpret that the recent communicative tricks are intended to make up for a lack of general political strategy and having to live at the pace of events between now and 2027, the year of the end of his term.
The French, often pessimistic, eruptive and complaining – it depends on the moment – harbor little hope in relation to the new ministers. But not everything is bad: the latest unemployment rate, 7.1%, is one of the best in the last 25 years.
