The new government must already face a major controversy and internal tensions… On the eve of his press conference, Emmanuel Macron called, Monday January 15, on his troops to “keep” their “unity” and to “mobilize ” for the European elections around the government of Gabriel Attal. “2023 has collectively put you to the test and I am not unaware of it,” declared the head of state in front of the parliamentarians of his camp and the ministers meeting behind closed doors at the Elysée, referring to the debate on the law immigration, which divided Macronie, and the painful adoption of pension reform.
He once again thanked Elisabeth Borne “for the action that was carried out”, of which he said he was “proud”, to loud applause, according to comments reported by several participants. The former Prime Minister was not present.
A year full of “audacity and collective action”
But the president immediately turned this page, as he has been doing since he appointed Gabriel Attal to Matignon last week, to wish for a year 2024 full of “audacity and collective action”.
He urged his majority, which suffers from being only relative to the National Assembly, to “keep” its “unity”, as well as its “spirit of overcoming” the right-left divide, the initial trademark of Macronism. He judged that “reactivating all divisions” would be the “worst thing”, because it was synonymous with “the impossibility of acting”, “guaranteed defeat” and “triumph of the extremes”.
“It is not a change of course, it is not a change of orientation, it is the pursuit of overtaking,” insisted Emmanuel Macron, while the shift to the right of the reshuffle created turbulence in the majority. On immigration, he predicted that after the decision of the Constitutional Council, which could invalidate several parts of the law on January 25, the right and the far right risked asking to “change the Constitution or leave the treaties” Europeans. “This is where we will have to fight and not by dividing ourselves,” he insisted.
While the presidential camp is largely left behind in the polls by the National Rally for Europeans, he called on all his elected officials and officials to “mobilize in the battle” because according to him it is the “only” bloc that “is “commits united” with “a clear vision for Europe”.
Emmanuel Macron did not mention the first crisis which is already undermining the “regeneration” desired after the sluggish start of the second five-year term, concerning the private schooling of the children of the new Minister of Education Amélie Oudéa-Castéra.
François Bayrou and Edouard Philippe were not at the Elysée
And he is walking on eggshells with his left wing and the Modem who do not hide their doubts in the face of a government which gives pride of place to ministers from the right, with the Sarkozyist Rachida Dati as a surprise guest at Culture. After excluding her from his party, the boss of the Republicans Eric Ciotti announced that his deputies would not vote for “confidence” in Gabriel Attal, nor, however, would a possible motion of censure.
The president of the RN Jordan Bardella jumped at the opportunity to call on voters and members of LR, ulcerated by the poaching of the executive, to join his party.
Also a sign of certain tensions in the majority? Neither the boss of Modem François Bayrou nor that of the Horizons party Edouard Philippe were at the Elysée Monday evening, officially detained in their respective strongholds of Pau and Le Havre. After having publicly shared his “questions” about the “experience” of Gabriel Attal, who became the youngest French Prime Minister at 34, François Bayrou walled himself in a silence which speaks volumes. But in its ranks, there is criticism of an executive which leans “clearly to the right”.
In the meantime, this week should put Emmanuel Macron in the spotlight. Tuesday evening, from the Elysée village hall and in “prime time” on television, he will hold a major press conference, an exercise he has not participated in for five years, outside of his re-election campaign. Presented by his entourage as a “new stage” of his “meeting with the Nation”, inaugurated by the appointment of Gabriel Attal, the exchange with journalists will be an opportunity to make “concrete announcements”, particularly on the “civic rearmament” outlined during the wishes for 2024.
On Wednesday, the president will focus on “economic and industrial rearmament” during an intervention at the Davos Forum (Switzerland) before greeting the armies on Friday in Cherbourg.