As always in moments of crisis, doubt or anxiety, Emmanuel Macron believes that the solution will come through words, his own obviously. By the words, and by the appointments given – “Hundred days”, “major political initiative” and now “meeting with the nation in January” – deadlines perceived by the French, he hopes, as so much proof that finally something, before their eyes, is going to take place. Seriousness of the wait thus scripted, deliverance and rebirth at the moment when the president begins to speak. For him, the fantasy of the blank page. The illusion of movement. And at the end of the road, for those who obediently waited, disappointment. It’s the “technical adjustment” of July 2023, or this television interview from Nouméa at the end of the same month in which nothing or very little is announced.
This time, like The world reported, he wishes to “restore hope”. Because the head of state has long been struck by French pessimism. “A feeling of dispossession has been infused into people’s minds,” they insist at the Elysée. “And if it’s not him who responds…” Shudder. Emmanuel Macron draws this observation: language, school, or science are no longer places of sharing. We do not invest them in the same way depending on whether we come from the city or the countryside, depending on whether we are 20 or 50 years old, depending on our use of social networks… “The country is not capable of unifying only in mourning or sport”, regrets one of his friends. And even. Even the dead today take on political colors.
“The truth has become fake news”
A few days ago, the president discovered with amazement the opinion survey published by The Economist revealing that one in five young Americans consider the Holocaust to be a myth. Dejection. Here, it is the treatment of the Crépol tragedy by certain media which reinforces his conviction: “The truth has become fake news.” A “counter-narrative” is emerging, in the face of which political power cannot be powerless.
We must help the country to put on the right glasses, see the facts, starting of course with its record. Industry restarting, inflation moderating, France’s rating maintained by Standard & Poor’s… The chaos caused by the immigration bill must not tarnish the whole, which is why he hopes to close this file before Christmas. For the new year, there is room for optimism and the reconstruction of “commons”, in the plural. Feeling of déjà vu… But if the president no longer believed in it, after all, wouldn’t that be the end?
Having the habit of repeatedly “resetting” requires innovation. How to “say” and what political response to provide? In his head several scenarios collide. A big press conference: 30 minutes of speeches, 30 minutes of questions. “A little short if you want to talk to my mother,” a relative retorted. Write to freeze? The letter format has already been used, the book remains, in the form of a small conceptual opus which would establish once and for all the Macronian doxa. The idea has been floating around the corridors of the Elysée since 2018. Seriously considered at the end of summer 2019, so much so that a written press interview was canceled at the last minute to make way for a work… which will never see the light of day. The story is told by Corinne Lhaïk in the excellent President Burglar (Fayard). More disruptive, the idea of a podcast on the exercise of power existed for a time. Too elitist, too urban.
What if this great speech on France was delivered as part of an exceptional congress? “It would be the most logical, most visible and clearest setting,” enthuses a close friend. An option which seems to be attracting the attention of the Head of State in recent days.
Dissolution or government of national unity?
As for political translation, it could take three forms. The first, a sea serpent since his re-election and even before: a tight government of national unity with a German-style coalition agreement and some major fundamental texts. The second, explosive: dissolution. Because he likes to showcase his audacity and his freedom, Emmanuel Macron waves the idea under the noses of his strategists. Since the vote on the rejection motion, the following reasoning has been developing in his mind: a small part of the deputies does not represent a majority of French people. Dissolving could mean taking the side of public opinion. Risk.
Final possibility: recomposition of the government team, retention of the Prime Minister ultimately so practical to carry many responsibilities. In short, do nothing and dress immobility in the clothes of agitation. “Most likely”: cold conviction of a member of his entourage. But the essential thing will be safe: still giving yourself the illusion of movement.
.