Elisabeth Borne at the revival. The Prime Minister presented on Wednesday her battle plan for the “hundred days of appeasement” and “actions” decreed by Emmanuel Macron a few days earlier. Stuck in the social crisis and weakened by the political crisis, the head of government detailed, during a press conference, “concrete solutions (and) actions that change the lives” of the French. Enough to turn the page on pensions and save this chaotic start to the five-year term? In the majority, the atmosphere oscillates between gloom… and a strange detachment.
“We need to relax”
After the presentation of Elisabeth Borne on Wednesday, it was necessary to look hard to find testimonies of support from the elected representatives of the majority. Neither Aurore Bergé (Renaissance), nor Jean-Paul Mattei (MoDem), nor Laurent Marcangeli (Horizons), group presidents of the presidential camp, took the time to tweet to provide after-sales service for their leader. . A silence that illustrates the ambient unease among the macronists.
“We are in a period of parliamentary cuts, some have taken leave or are in the constituency on more local subjects. It should not be interpreted as a lack of enthusiasm”, tries to qualify Erwan Balanant, MoDem deputy from Finistère, one of the few elected representatives of the majority to answer us. “After a delicate sequence, we need to recharge our batteries, we will see after the start of the school year next Tuesday…. “, he breathes. Admittedly, the last few days have not been easy for Macronie. After the “forceful” adoption of the pension reform in the National Assembly, social anger has not subsided. Neither in public opinion nor in the street.
Saucepans and low morale
In recent days, the slightest trip by Elisabeth Borne or her ministers has been accompanied by a concert of whistles and pots to heckle them. “I will continue to move, even if the period calls for a musical welcome”, said Wednesday to 20 minutes Sarah El Haïry, Secretary of State in charge of Youth, during an eventful trip to Versailles. “The President of the Republic invites us to be in contact with the French”, she justified, while Emmanuel Macron himself has been increasing field visits in recent days. “This context, this unpopularity of the president, of the executive, is tiring, it can be overwhelming. It’s not easy, but that doesn’t prevent us from working. We were not elected to complain, ”continues Erwan Balanant.
Going into contact, in this explosive context, can therefore dampen the morale of the macronists. The Renaissance MP for Bouches-du-Rhône Jean-Marc Zulesi announced, in a press release released on Monday, his intention to file a complaint against demonstrators, claiming to be the victim of “harassment”. “There is hatred, the atmosphere has hardened”, recognizes François Patriat, the boss of the Renaissance senators, who prefers to put things into perspective. “What bothers me is the silent France that does not express itself. There is a media magnifying glass: with twenty overturned trash cans, one has the impression that Paris is burning”.
Before the important day of mobilization on Monday, May 1, these few days of rest are therefore not too much. “We have taken a lot of blows since the legislative elections… There is a kind of global lethargy in Macronie”, recognizes a source within Renaissance. Who has not “had time” to watch Elisabeth Borne’s speech.
Elisabeth Borne on probation
This lack of support for the Prime Minister stems from her political fragility. During his address to the French, on April 17, Emmanuel Macron did not mention Elisabeth Borne by name. Internally, it lost a lot of credit on the retirement sequence, with the use in extremis of article 49.3, which it wanted to avoid at all costs. Still without an absolute majority in the National Assembly, the head of government was also forced to postpone the long-awaited immigration reform until the fall, preferring to mention the divisions on the right rather than the risk of a break-up of his own camp on this slippery subject.
Wednesday’s announcements do not seem to have been enough to restore his image in the presidential camp. “It’s not a question of anyone, our subject is first of all to define a global project to train the country… and that’s not really the path that was chosen on Wednesday. We were rather entitled to a legislative agenda, with which we were not at all associated…”, sighs a deputy of the majority. A participant in the majority breakfasts, organized every Tuesday morning to set the course, is sorry. “With Edouard Philippe or Jean Castex, we talked politics. Now, everyone comes to talk about their little problems like at the commercial café. Everyone thinks that Elisabeth Borne is cooked. Today, Matignon is very weak, there is no structure, no project”.
The “hundred days” now seem a little short to allow Elisabeth Borne to raise the morale of the troops “Perhaps the mistake was not to be present enough to give consistency and carry out this reform myself “, said Emmanuel Macron at the Parisian last Sunday. What undermine, a little more, the authority of his Prime Minister.