What would politics be without its stunts, its low blows, its twisted blows, its dirty tricks…? Because, as Edouard Philippe would say, “we have to do things seriously without taking ourselves seriously”, the political service of L’Express offers to immerse you in the corridors of power thanks to a weekly meeting, every Thursday, on our website.
Cannabis opposes Darmanin and Cese
The Economic, Social and Environmental Council (Cese) adopted on Tuesday January 24 an opinion in favor of “framed legislation” for the so-called recreational uses of cannabis. A stone in the garden of Gérald Darmanin, who readily admits that on this subject, he feels “a little lonely”. “Drugs give rise to all delinquency, it is the mother of battles”, explains the Minister of the Interior, who summons to “stop with this discourse in certain circles of the legitimacy of drugs”.
Véran-Ciotti: pocket call
Just before Christmas, Olivier Véran is surprised: on his cell phone, a missed call from Eric Ciotti. The government spokesperson reminds him, falls on his mailbox, before the new president of LR ends up joining him. A 30-minute conversation, without any particular subject, during which Ciotti suggests that LR will support the pension reform, above all does not want a dissolution in current times and will, on the other hand, be intransigent on the immigration text.
Wauquiez launches working groups for 2027…
We have already written it: the path of Laurent Wauquiez around 2027 will be underground. But lately, it seems that the president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region is allowing himself some confidences. A senator who received him in January found him “very determined”. Laurent Wauquiez would even have exposed his plan to several elected LRs: wait for the Europeans and take advantage of the announced disaster to change everything on the right and recreate a party and / or a dynamic around him. In his entourage, it is assured that “the Europeans are not a deadline perceived by him as essential” but that “everything will be progressive”.
To get started, Wauquiez also knows that he needs a program or, at the very least, a vision. It is no doubt for this reason that he is now busy federating around him various profiles in order to feed his thinking. In an email, which L’Express was able to consult, one of his lieutenants offers experts in international relations to join a working group made up of humanitarian doctors, former soldiers, diplomats, responsible for thinking about the questions of defense and international matters “in the broad sense”. Mention is made in particular of Europe, the foreign debt, and the French-speaking world. Objective: “to feed the reflection of Laurent Wauquiez in anticipation of the presidential election of 2027”.
A relative of the regional boss tempers: “We are not at all organized in thematic working groups subject by subject, it is rather a question of reception platforms for the goodwill who manifest themselves with him.” For the moment, “two categories of people have organized themselves to work on what could become a project, assures the same. People with an economic actor profile or from civil society and a group of senior civil servants and lawyers who provide it with expertise on request”. “All this is done without the party,” annoys a member of the Republicans. Undoubtedly the share of macronism of Laurent Wauquiez.
… but remain discreet on pensions
The support of LR deputies for the text on pensions is uncertain. In this context of doubt, Rachida Dati called this Thursday, January 26, Laurent Wauquiez to publicly seize the subject. The president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region has only done so once, on the sidelines of his wishes to the press on January 21. He spoke of the “gaps” of the government copy, while ensuring that a “principle of responsibility consists in not opposing the reform”.
The opinion of the former Minister of Justice is not isolated. An LR executive in favor of reform would like the pretender for 2027 to commit more in order to convert the refractory deputies. “What is needed is for him to express himself”, confided this elected official on Tuesday. A wishful thinking. Laurent Wauquiez has not planned to speak on the subject for the time being. “He does not wish to comment on the news, but to build another political offer, on pensions as on other subjects, assures a relative. He is not a parliamentarian, with an active role in the current reform.”
Dupond-Moretti annoyed by the Horizons niche
On March 2, the Horizons group will take advantage of its very first parliamentary niche to present a bill on the fight against recidivism, tabled by the Vice-President of the Assembly Naïma Moutchou. Its first article aims to establish a minimum sentence of one year’s imprisonment in the event of a repeated attack against a person contributing to a mission of general interest (police officer, magistrate, teacher, etc.), which is not without remember – from afar, of course, but all the same – the hardships of a certain Nicolas Sarkozy. The measure does not please the government, in particular the Keeper of the Seals Eric Dupond-Moretti, “mad furious against the measure” according to a parliamentarian from the Philippist group.