Edouard Philippe and Jean-François Copé had lunch together this Tuesday, February 6. What did they talk about? “From the future,” reveals a relative.
“They like each other and left this meeting with a smile,” reports a close friend of Edouard Philippe. Macron’s former Prime Minister and the LR mayor of Meaux (Seine-et-Marne) met on Tuesday February 6 for lunch, we learned Le Figaro. The head of the Horizons party, an ally of Renaissance, discussed “the future” with Jean-François Copé. Given among the favorites for the 2027 presidential election, is Edouard Philippe already looking for new allies on the right?
Their discussion aimed to make “a general point about the situation”, declare those around them. “Both are keeping an eye on what comes next. After the Europeans and the Horizons Congress, which must take place in December, the plates could move,” declares a friend of Edouard Philippe. “What is certain is that both of them do not want Marine Le Pen at the Élysée. And to ensure this, we will have to be united and strong in the second round,” explains another.
“A real coalition with the right”
“We talk from time to time,” confirms Jean-François Copé. During lunch, he gave his opinion on the president’s attitude: “Emmanuel Macron really does nothing to facilitate the conditions for a real coalition with the right. He takes a historic responsibility by opening a boulevard to the Rally national,” he summarizes.
In the spring of 2022, Mayor LR of Meaux was one of the few voices raised within the right-wing party to defend a coalition with the Macronists. Does Edouard Philippe intend to rely on him to definitively scuttle Les Républicains? Those around him refuse to reveal more, objecting that the mayor of Le Havre “does not have the habit of reporting on his conversations with his friends.”