Barnier pays himself Ciotti, Attal, Panot… These caustic and mocking sentences which set the tone

The Prime Minister embarked on an unexpected exercise after his general policy speech: responding to criticism from the opposition, with sarcasm or even mockery.

Michel Barnier is an old hand in politics. In any case, he understands that all the parliamentarians with whom he will have to discuss a lot in the coming weeks understand that he was not born last week. And that his position as head of government, after more than 50 years of political career, allows him to force back those who adopt ways that do not suit him.

Tuesday October 1, after his general policy speech, the group presidents took the floor to either thank the Prime Minister or warn him, in a context of censorship which threatens the future of the government. At the end of these speeches, Michel Barnier allowed himself a lot of levity in responding to them. The most astonishing sequence is obviously this message reserved for his predecessor Gabriel Attal, to whom he had not made the slightest mention during his speech.

Obviously annoyed that the former Prime Minister explained to him that it will not be necessary to increase taxation to preserve businesses, he was mocking: “I will be very attentive, very attentive, to your proposals for additional savings to make faced with a deficit that I found when I arrived. And faced with the laughter provoked after this sacarism, Michel Barnier added, like a teacher in front of his students: “You have to get used to each other that I say what I think.”

Another surprising dig, the one addressed to former LR Eric Ciotti, who asked him to do more on the immigration issue. The two men speak informally to each other, they led the 2022 presidential campaign together after facing each other in the primary, but the Prime Minister chose distance to respond to him. “You spent some time saying things that are not true about my government. Mr. Ciotti, I have known you well, for a long time. Good. I don’t want to argue with you. And then I no time.”

To Mathilde Panot, he chose to offer other good words. “Madame, I have a little difficulty understanding your tone, and your aggressiveness. I will tell you one thing, Madam President Panot: the more aggressive you are, the more respectful I will be.” To the president of the environmental group, he also had fun: “Madam President Chatelain, I know ecological subjects well, I worked on them long before you!”