Neither of them was in front of their television that evening and it must be admitted that they had a good excuse: neither Gabriel Attal nor Jordan Bardella had been born. On Sunday October 27, 1985, at 7 p.m. – the best time in terms of audience -, Prime Minister Laurent Fabius faced Jacques Chirac, president of the RPR and one of the opposition leaders, on TF1. He thus launched the campaign for the legislative elections of March 1986. It was the socialist who took the initiative for this confrontation. He will bite his fingers, arriving exhausted on the set – he has just returned from a trip to Mururoa, on the other side of the world – and losing his temper while he was trying, precisely, to annoy his opponent. One exchange is remembered. Chirac: “Be kind to let me speak and stop intervening constantly, a bit like a pug.” Fabius: “Listen, please, you are talking to the Prime Minister of France.”
Only idiots never change their minds. In the weeks following his arrival at Matignon, Gabriel Attal does not wish to debate against Jordan Bardella. It is extremely rare in our political history for a Prime Minister to accept direct confrontation with an opposition leader. Besides the famous Fabius-Chirac of 1985, we remember the Barre-Mitterrand of 1977 and that’s about it. In mid-February, Gabriel Attal confided: “The French expect me more in my functions as Prime Minister than in those of majority leader. Should the poster child of the campaign be me? I am not not sure. It supports what the RN wants, namely the nationalization of the countryside; and it supports the idea that I am not 100% on my projects. Moreover, it is a gift to Bardella!
Monday April 29, according to information revealed by RMCthe Prime Minister indicated to some members of the government that he was finally ready to debate with Jordan Bardella. The chained Duck claims that it was Emmanuel Macron who asked him. At Matignon, the subject divided the cabinet into two camps of equal size, but the need to move the lines and protect the head of government against emerging doubts about his combativeness was increasingly strong.
“Might as well limit the defeat to come”
It must be said that in a few weeks the climate and the polls have continued to deteriorate in the majority. Several voices now deplore the discretion of Gabriel Attal in the campaign. Her participation has so far been limited to a speech at the launch meeting by Valérie Hayer and a door-to-door visit with the Renaissance leader. “He did not want to take responsibility for the defeat to come, analyzes a Renaissance executive. But he will be associated with it, so we might as well limit it.”
This Attal-Bardella duel can only delight the presidential camp. It is not without strategic ambiguity. Macronie seeks to bring the vote back to a European level, when the National Rally sets it up as a referendum against government policy. By clashing against the far-right leader, the Prime Minister gives a national tone to this battle, as he is hardly identified on European issues. “His position is less obvious than that of Edouard Philippe in 2019, notes a MEP. He had been discussing European issues for two years, which is not the case for Attal.” But necessity is law. National issues will determine the choice of a large part of the electorate. Impossible to do without it. “We must not shy away from national politics,” former head of the list Nathalie Loiseau recently confided to Valérie Hayer, regarding her televised debate on May 2 with Jordan Bardella.
In any case, the moment is well chosen to announce this change of heart, when 37% of voters, according to an Ipsos survey carried out with a sample of 10,651 people, say they can still change their vote. The president of the RN is running a non-campaign, struggling to hide his limitations and avoiding any confrontation – without losing a single point in the polls for the moment. This time, since he wins his case – he had repeated the day before his desire to confront the Prime Minister – he will be obliged to accept the debate. The two men will have the opportunity to talk about it this Thursday: they meet, in the Prime Minister’s office, for the second time since the latter’s appointment, officially to talk about minor violence.
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