They had not seen each other since that horrible day in May 2023. Nicolas Sarkozy was then sentenced to one year in prison and three years of deprivation of his civic rights in the so-called “wiretapping” case. As soon as the verdict fell, the former president, who is appealing in cassation, had received several marks of support. Among them, the friendly words of the Macron couple particularly touched him. Since the first day, this strange president, whom he does not fully understand, has shown elegance towards him. At regular intervals, Emmanuel Macron invites him to his Elysian table. He probes the “disruptor” in chief that is Nicolas Sarkozy. Occasionally, too, the current head of state asks the former to act as emissaries abroad. Admiration and curiosity shared. This does not prevent the Ex from predicting, at even more regular intervals than his visits to the Elysée, that “it will all end badly”.
This time, no feast for the two presidents but an hour-long meeting, on the evening of Tuesday June 6, at the Elysée Palace, when Emmanuel Macron has just returned from his Norman journey. “No agenda”, we say at the Palace, but a conversation which lingered a lot on the construction of a new political force which would allow the current president to “accelerate”, according to the word from one of his relatives.
“We must appoint a right-wing prime minister”
It must be said that Nicolas Sarkozy knows how to be generous. Never stingy with political advice, he got into the habit of slipping his young successor the names of those who, according to him, deserve a ministry or… Matignon. And too bad if “[ses] advice is never acted upon”, as he slipped it a few days after the meeting to one of his close friends. In life, you have to persevere!
This Tuesday evening, he said it bluntly to Emmanuel Macron: “When France leans to the right, we must appoint a right-wing Prime Minister.” He heard like everyone else the rumors announcing the possible arrival of the very macronist Julien Denormandie at Matignon. This scenario pleases him only moderately. Too tone on tone, too fragile. “It’s Macron less well, at the first motion of censure, he jumps”, would have slipped the former president to one of his friends to whom he told his Elysian meeting.
Another subject of concern shared by Nicolas Sarkozy and Emmanuel Macron: the future of the right. Embarrassed by his relative majority, the head of state would like to tie some of the Republicans to his second five-year term in order to gain some leeway when voting on complicated texts. Julien Denormandie does not quite have the ideal curriculum vitae to convince right-wing elected officials to join the Macronian ship.
Then, why the hell does Emmanuel Macron not do like him, Sarkozy? Had he made an agreement with the left before picking his future ministers from his ranks? Useless ! Parties and politics are made in such a way that there will always be personalities who see their interest in splitting rather than in consensus. “Agree or not, Bruno Retailleau or Olivier Marleix will always want to play their part”, philosopher an elected LR Sarkozyst.
Let us add that it is not either the presence of Christine Lagarde at Matignon, a time defended by Nicolas Sarkozy, which would transform into docile allies the Republicans wishing to exist by themselves. There are equations that even two conversing presidents struggle to solve.