Three months after his arrival at the Elysée, Jean Spiri, director of cabinet of Brigitte Macron, is no longer certain of wanting to cross the gates of the Palace. On the night of March 14 to 15, the East wing adviser, who had succeeded Pierre-Olivier Costa at the beginning of January, found himself in an embarrassing situation. After a convivial moment spent in a bar on the Place des Saussaies, a stone’s throw from the Elysée Palace, Mr. Spiri fell ill in front of the British Embassy, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré. He was in a state associated by the police with an acute alcohol level.
“I work at the Elysée”, said the adviser that evening, before being directed to the Lariboisière hospital and then returning to his home around 5 a.m. victim of a « black-out »according to his words, Jean Spiri has no memory of this nocturnal adventure.
The incident goes back to the Castle on this feverish night, on the eve of the outbreak of 49.3 intended to have the pension reform adopted. Alerted by the Ministry of the Interior, the management of Emmanuel Macron’s cabinet “claims accounts” from March 15 to the person concerned. The Elysée retains a version of the facts “unfavorable” for Mr. Spiri, underlines the medical report of the hospital of the armies of Percy, March 17. The examination excludes the taking of illicit substances and confirms a medical amnesic episode.
A month off
“Yes, I am in a state of anxiety, stress and fatigue”confirm to Monde Jean Spiri, affected by his misadventure but who says he is supported by his hierarchy. The cabinet, led by the prefect Patrick Strzoda since May 2017, has however experienced the trauma of the Benalla affair – a close collaborator of Emmanuel Macron ousted after violence committed in May 2018. “ The Elysée is a terrible house where, alas, all the rumors run…”regrets Jean Spiri, who took a month off, far from Paris.
From the Bolloré group to the presidency of the Republic, Brigitte Macron’s chief of staff continued “lots of stressful jobs”. Elysian advisers say they have seen no warning signs of a burnout, but point out that the Elysée is “a special house” which requires staying alert day and night.
“I had left politics, it was an opportunity to come back to it, but maybe I’m more made for books”, confides this former publisher, formerly close to Xavier Bertrand. At 40, the normalien is not sure of having ” want to dive back into the same stress, look for “a new job” and would like “quickly turn the page”.