2023-07-19 05:31:02
The gardens of the Elysée Palace, in June 2019. ERIC FEFERBERG / AFP
Fresh Bandol and petit fours are served in the Elysée garden. This Tuesday, July 18, the forty-two members of the government, as well as their spouses, are invited to dinner which is traditionally held before the summer break. Only the Minister for the Armed Forces, Sébastien Lecornu, on a trip to Iraqi Kurdistan, is missing. A buffet is set up in the grass, a barbecue is sizzling, variety hits resound in the air: the broadway java by Michel Sardou Desire Johnny Hallyday et Ex-Fan des Sixties by Jane Birkin… As if nothing had happened.
And yet, the negotiations are still in full swing for the government reshuffle announced the day before and which will fall by the end of the week. After months of tension, the chats and the polite smiles hide the lump in the stomach which grips several ministers, uncertain of still being at their post in a few hours. “Everyone is there, but no one knows anything”notes the Minister of Industry, Roland Lescure, before slipping away to the National Assembly.
The ministers wait, three long quarters of an hour, on the lawn. Everyone knows that Emmanuel Macron and Elisabeth Borne meet, at the same time, face to face, to decide on the fate of each of them and review the appointments still in the balance.
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Between the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister, views differ on the extent of this summer reshuffle: the Head of State, who promised to restore a “national momentum” intends to make it a non-event, while Elisabeth Borne would like to upset the government system more broadly. To dampen the hopes of a change of magnitude, the Elysée announced on Monday, through a laconic message to the press, that the former prefect remained in Matignon and was going to proceed to simple “adjustments”.
From Place Beauvau, Gérald Darmanin only had to cross the street on Tuesday evening to arrive among the first, accompanied by his wife. He didn’t wait. No sooner has he entered the courtyard of the Elysée than the Minister of the Interior is grabbed by the presidential arms. Emmanuel Macron wants to talk to him alone. Does the head of state intend to comfort the one whose name has been coming back with insistence, for months, to be propelled to Matignon?
Macron: “I want everyone on deck this summer”
Around 9 p.m., Emmanuel Macron and his wife finally make their appearance on the steps of the garden. “We are delighted with Brigitte to welcome you”, said the President of the Republic at the microphone. Before thanking the members of the government for their work… And minimizing the sword of Damocles suspended above their heads. “In a past life, I was in your shoes, and I know those times are never pleasant. You have to take a lot of distance”, professes the former Minister of the Economy of François Hollande. Then he projects: “We will have a lot of decisive reforms to carry out at the start of the school year. Things will not be simpler because French political life will not be simplified. » Before haranguing: “I want everyone on deck this summer”. Everyone, really?
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