Maximum mobilization at the top of the State. Wednesday March 20, it was a little after 9 p.m. when the Head of State brought together, in the ambassadors’ lounge at the Elysée, his Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, the executives of his camp, as well as a host of ministers. Around the table, Bruno Le Maire (economy), Gérald Darmanin (interior), Catherine Vautrin (work, health and solidarity), Stéphane Séjourné (foreign affairs), Christophe Béchu (ecological transition) and Thomas Cazenave (public accounts). Only Edouard Philippe is missing. The boss of the Horizons party flew to New Caledonia. “Anyway, when he’s around, he doesn’t say anything other than ‘I’m not the best person to give advice,’ so…”squeaks a participant.
The table, which looks like a hastily assembled crisis unit, must address the country’s financial situation, which is calamitous, and the political context, which is perilous. Less than three months before the European elections of June 9, the Renaissance-MoDem-Horizons list remains more than ten points behind that of the National Rally (RN). “Now is not the time for commentary but for mobilization”reprimands the head of state in front of his people. “In 2019, the context was worse, we have a historic responsibility to succeed. European civilization is at stake”, he recalls. In front of a seafood platter, the majority leaders listen without flinching. The strategy aimed at relentlessly attacking the RN has not borne fruit. The Head of State recommends praising the European record before announcing the content of the program. “It will take four strong ideas. We must be at the rendezvous of history”underlines the President of the Republic.
The night drags on when Emmanuel Macron approaches the second part of the dinner, more delicate – it concerns public finances. A first. Never the tenant of the Elysée, father of “whatever it costs”, summoned the heavyweights of the government and the majority to address the subject of the slippage in public accounts. For him, it is first and foremost the economy which, through growth, must balance the country’s finances. In front of his plate of shrimp and whelks, Thomas Cazenave is probably thinking about what Gérald Darmanin, who held the position from 2017 to 2020, slipped into his mouth at the time of his appointment in the summer of 2023. “Good luck, the president doesn’t care about your subject. » But Emmanuel Macron has been facing a seriously degraded situation since the start of the year.
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