“There has never been a collective phew in this government and there, there is no more at all.” It is a minister, usually rather optimistic, who says it. Imagine them, the 42 members of the government, almost all oscillating between the anxiety of the days to come, a slight depression, and the hope of a promotion, too. These are all ingredients that generally contribute relatively little to strengthening team spirit. Especially since the ambient violence weighs: “Frankly, I had not signed for that”, grumbles one. The President of the Republic has made an appointment with his world on April 14, the date on which the Constitutional Council will deliver its verdict on the pension reform, and has instructed Elisabeth Borne to draw up a new legislative calendar by then. Meanwhile… Well time is long. Suspended. Worrying. “There is an atmosphere halfway between anesthesia and twilight”, summarizes a pillar of the executive. You said dismal (except for readers of Playboy who will thus have news of Marlène Schiappa)?
And in addition, they are locked up, which is still the best way to fret. Almost no movement. The king is not their cousin, even Charles III, who only wanted to go to Bordeaux by train – we have a green streak yes or no – stayed in London. Projects are also on hold. Bruno Le Maire was to devote himself to green reindustrialization on Monday March 27, the Elysée Palace asked to postpone. Ministerial advisers complain of seeing the action of their boss restrained. Everyone agrees: in this moment which looks like a parenthesis far from being enchanted, cancellations are raining down. The services are slowing down, note several ministers. And no more arbitration is made at Matignon: “in this general wavering, everything that is not urgent can wait”, describes one of them. Even if Elisabeth Borne is currently increasing thematic work meetings with part of her team, it would take more to fool them: “The most important thing was above all the round of images from the television cameras”, ironically one of these participants.
A “probable” redesign
Since there is no question of dissolution or referendum, many ministers are anticipating a reshuffle, the only major tool that the president could draw, perhaps before the summer. “It’s likely, so we wonder if we’re not working on files that we won’t be dealing with any longer,” slips a secretary of state. So they reassure themselves. Attempt to demonstrate their usefulness in the period. Many of them believe that the work they have undertaken corresponds to the roadmap given by the Head of State: consensual, exciting texts; useful and concrete measures! The competition has started, everything is good to save his skin. It makes the heavyweights smile… “Some colleagues consider that, because the president has given them a mission, it means that they will stay. So no!, explains a pillar of the government. They forget that he is utilitarian. If you are minister of stuffed cabbage, in charge of giving him a note on stuffed cabbage, it does not mean that you will stay at stuffed cabbage. He can order you two days before firing or changing you. From post.” Art, or not, to be in the cabbage.
The spectacular deterioration of the atmosphere at the top of the state further pollutes the climate. Emmanuel Macron’s game vis-à-vis Elisabeth Borne disconcerts more than one. Politico reports this presidential remark on the promise of the Prime Minister to no longer use article 49.3 outside financial bills – “it’s stupid” -, and almost everywhere the walls are shaking. There is a rumor in the ministerial corridors that even the secretary general of the Elysée, Alexis Kohler, who for so long defended Elisabeth Borne, no longer hides his irritations, and the shivers redouble. “We all know it, the probability that she will stay is very slim. If it’s not now, it will be in a few weeks”, recognizes one of the members of his government, one of those who praise his action and support it… This is not the case for everyone.
Because the executive these days looks like a football club out of results: everyone is thinking about their transfer at the end of the season, and the players are starting to let go of their coach to put pressure on their president. Some play on the right wing, others on the left wing… Not to mention those who imagine taking his place. Elisabeth Borne knows nothing of the little games that take place in front of her, or rather behind her back: “It’s the season…” How many still support her other than like a hanged man’s noose? Tuesday evening, she cheered up by dining with Olivier Véran, Gabriel Attal, Stanislas Guérini, Olivia Grégoire, Franck Riester, Roland Lescure and Clément Beaune. Loyal macronists, but who fear a new swerve to the right. “The challenge is not to replace Elisabeth Borne but to help her by playing collectively,” said one of those present. The participants insist on the need to “take off” – the verb comes back in the mouths of several of them – the Prime Minister of the President. “She must have a role with added value, it’s complementarity and differentiation, explains a guest. The restart of social dialogue is more her than him.”
Others, less close to Elisabeth Borne, hope for a replacement who, for once, would have a form of freedom vis-à-vis the President of the Republic. A lightning rod more detached from the role of collaborator a bit pale that Emmanuel Macron expects from his Prime Minister. “He must take risks, because there, it is his capital which is directly affected”, recommends a member of the government. But a change of cast, at Matignon as in the ministries, does not appear to anyone as a miracle solution. Only… Few manage to draw the outlines of a new act. “What is worrying is that the French are not doing well, they are not only demonstrating against pensions, they are demonstrating against a kind of thing”, notes a minister. At one time, we spoke of disaster. How do you respond, exactly, to “some kind of thing”?