The President wants to find the rare gem for Matignon who won’t be thrown out at the first motion of censure. A man or woman with whom he can live out two years of happy cohabitation.
Emmanuel Macron is not looking for a Prime Minister who is the expression of universal suffrage. That is, from the party or political coalition that came out on top in the early legislative elections. If that were the case, he’d have found him already. Maron wants to install in Matignon a Prime Minister who is his or her servant. A PM who won’t unravel his reforms, who won’t question the pension reform, who won’t raise the minimum wage, who will obey orders from the Élysée Palace without question, without provoking the wrath of the Assembly, who will apply “his” policy. In short, a sort of political concubine, allowing for an idyllic relationship between Matignon and Élysée. Change in continuity, so to speak.
True cohabitation
Does this rare pearl exist? Nobody thinks so. Not the left-wing Nouveau Front Populaire, not the Rassemblement National, not even the deputies from the center who promised to censor any Prime Minister who doesn’t follow them. They are all demanding a new head of government who will make a radical break with the seven years of Jupiterian policies that have led France to the disaster we know today.
The French people have spoken loud and clear, both in the European elections and in the legislative elections. They want a new policy, and therefore a new government that is a true cohabitation. Each in his own role. The President presides from the Élysée Palace. The government governs and runs the country.
Macron plays with institutions
Since July 16, 2024 and the resignation of the Attal government, the President of the Republic has been playing with the institutions. He takes his time. He consults. He rejected the Nouveau Front Populaire’s proposal to appoint Lucie Castets. Nor does he want a PM from the National Rally. That left the center, from the Socialists to the Republicans, the historic channel version. But none of these personalities found favor in Macron’s eyes.
With the start of the new school year just around the corner, and no Minister of Education to speak of, it’s still urgent to appoint a Prime Minister and form a government. Bernard Cazeneuve? Xavier Bertrand?
The appointment of a new Matignon seems, at last, imminent. But will it be a Prime Minister of cohabitation or coalition? We’ll soon find out…