The most hypermnesic readers and keen on politics have fond memories of the Juppé mediation after the episode as crazy as it was deleterious for the right of the Copé-Fillon war for the presidency of the UMP, barely a few months after the defeat of Nicolas Sarkozy in the 2012 presidential election. Despite his calmness, Alain Juppé was unable to calm the minds heated by an ambiguous election. It must be believed that in Macronie, some have revised their classics and learned lessons from this series.
Rather than letting the storm rage between Elisabeth Borne, declared candidate for the position of secretary general of Renaissance, and Gabriel Attal, candidate not yet declared but already in the campaign, Philippe Grangeon has, according to information from Politico, decided to intervene . Donning his hat as a “very operational former business manager”, he brought together the two suitors at his Parisian home on Tuesday October 8 and tried to play the mediator in his turn.
“I am a fervent defender of unity,” likes to remind the man who co-founded En Marche! in 2017. In his eyes, the presence of several candidates in the race to succeed Stéphane Séjourné would be completely democratic, provided that each has a unique project. But Emmanuel Macron’s party cannot afford the luxury of a fratricidal conflict between two ex-Prime Ministers who have nothing to oppose in substance. And Gabriel Attal’s acid observations in front of his family do not announce a joust with speckled foils: “Elisabeth made an error in timing: the heart of summer; an error in vector: The Parisianwithout warning the executives; a narrative error: she knocked on the doors of people who don’t like me. It was identified as anti-Attal.” As for Borne, she does not forget to recall that the presidency of the movement “is a full-time job”, thus stinging the desires for omnipotence of her rival already president of the EPR parliamentary group , and seems not to be ashamed of having forgotten to warn Attal before his announcement of candidacy in the newspaper. Between the two “exes” of Matignon, a lot of freedom, quite a bit of fraternity.
So, it was necessary to inject, at least, a little reason into these tormented relationships. “In a delicate national political situation, and in a family which is experiencing dissolution with divergence, that two former Prime Ministers who have been there since the beginning – and whose only differences are their age, their culture, their style – confront would pose a problem,” Philippe Grangeon essentially told his hosts. Thus, the spectacle given to the supporters and voters of Macronism would be that of a battle of ambitions, of political calendars, far from the debate of ideas that some may want to hope for during this type of election.
Evening discussion, hope? Privately, Gabriel Attal says he is ready, since the summer, to offer “collegial leadership”. And it is the subject of collegiality that was discussed at length during this three-way interview. But collegiality “in the very broad sense of the term”, according to the account of the meeting given by someone close to Emmanuel Macron. Understand: a collegiality also at the head of the Ensemble pour la République group, in order to put an end to the lawsuit against its ambitious boss for wanting to create a war machine of his own with a view to 2027.
“When you want to lead a party, you have to show that you are listening,” continues our interlocutor. “And when you are strong, you make compromises…” Negotiating the withdrawal of Elisabeth Borne for the presidency of Renaissance? This does not look like an amicable composition. On the other hand, proposing to the Calvados MP to form “a duo” with the young elected official from Hauts-de-Seine could be akin to a satisfactory conciliation. Provided, of course, that “duo” does not mean ticket and that there is no number two. Is Attal ready for it? This is the question that animated the exchange the day before. In the absence of fraternity, let there arise, at least, equality between them.
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