This was his first interview since the results of the legislative elections. On Tuesday, July 23, during an interview broadcast on France 2 and Franceinfo on an open-air set flown over by helicopters, Emmanuel Macron commented on the political situation in the country in the run-up to the Paris Olympic Games, which are due to open this Friday, July 26.
The President of the Republic has reversed his decision to dissolve the National Assembly on the evening of the European elections of June 9, won by the National Rally. “I made this choice consciously, with great seriousness, because the National Assembly no longer corresponded to French society,” he said. “Everyone told us that the motion of censure would arrive in the fall,” justified Emmanuel Macron, before stating: “I took my responsibilities by asking the French women and men to choose.”
Asked about the results of the early legislative elections of 30 June and 7 July, which did not produce a clear majority, he acknowledged that the outgoing majority had “lost this election”, but considered that “no one” had “won”. He called on the political forces to be “up to what they did in the inter-round elections”. “The responsibility of these parties is to do something that all European democracies do, […] knowing how to compromise,” he pointed out.
Emmanuel Macron returned to the controversy that followed the refusal of some deputies of the New Popular Front (NFP) to shake the hand of the youngest (National Rally, RN) of the new National Assembly during the election of the president of the hemicycle. “There is no sub-deputy,” he declared. “11 million of our compatriots have sent a clear message, also a message of support. We must respond to the causes that gave rise to this vote,” he judged.
Claiming to have chosen “stability”, Emmanuel Macron assumed to keep the Attal government “in current affairs” for the duration of the Olympic Games, at least until mid-August, he specified. Considering that the responsibility of the political parties was “immense” for the future, he cited security, access to public services and purchasing power as priorities that he believed the next government should tackle.
“The subject is not a name”
The President of the Republic refused to comment on the proposal, issued by the NFP an hour before his interview, to appoint senior civil servant Lucie Castets to Matignon. “The question is not a name, it is what majority can emerge in the Assembly so that a government can implement reforms, pass a budget and move the country forward,” said Emmanuel Macron.
The alliance of left-wing parties agreed on Tuesday, July 23, to propose to the President of the Republic the name of Lucie Castets, a 37-year-old senior civil servant committed to defending public services, for the post of Prime Minister. She told AFP that she had accepted “in all humility but with great conviction”, considering herself a “credible and serious” candidate for Matignon.
The Olympic Games, a “security challenge”
“All security checks have been made” before the opening of the Olympic Games this Friday, July 26, Emmanuel Macron was keen to state at the beginning of the interview, who acknowledged that these Games presented “a security challenge”. The president considered that the “constraints” linked to the organization of Paris 2024 in the capital were “necessary” to “ensure security” and stated: “We need to ‘re-enthusiast’. We will all see from Friday evening why it was worth it.”
Reacting to the controversy surrounding the arrival of Israeli athletes in Paris, the president considered that the latter were “welcome” in France and considered Thomas Portes’ comments “unacceptable”. In support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the La France Insoumise MP considered that the Israeli delegation was not welcome at the Olympic Games.
Emmanuel Macron defended the organization of the Paris Olympics, pointing out: “Having the audacity to organize the opening ceremony, no one had done it.” Asked about the program for this evening, he refused to give more information: “We will have artists from all over the world and from France, immense artists,” he affirmed, without wanting to comment on the rumors pointing to the possible participation of Aya Nakamura or Celine Dion.