Emmanuel Macron has asked for a reprieve. He, the ambitious man who had taken advantage of the weakness of President François Hollande to kill this political father during the presidential election of 2017, perceives the eagerness of his aspiring successors. But it’s early. Too early to think about 2027, he warned. During the dinner of the executives of his party, Renaissance, organized at the Elysée Palace on August 31, the Head of State asked his troops for unfailing cohesion at least until the end of 2024. Once the European elections behind him , after the Olympic Games, the race of small horses for the presidential will be able to open. For the time being, he recalled, no one has an interest in this second five-year term turning into a fiasco.
In the audience, knowing glances turn to Bruno Le Maire, the all-powerful Minister of the Economy who has just taken over the management of the party’s “ideas” pole. During the summer, the number two of the government took the light in Parliament. After serving as a stand-in for Elisabeth Borne in the Senate, reading the general policy speech that she herself delivered to the Assembly on July 6, the former Chiraquian defended the amending finance bill aimed at preserving the French galloping inflation. With the idea of sculpting his image as protector of the nation and “deal-maker” with the right of the Les Républicains party.
A “little grain of madness”
Since then, he has made his own music resonate. While Elisabeth Borne assures “not close the door” to a contribution on the superprofits, the tenant of Bercy excludes any new tax, to the applause of the contractors of Medef. Shortly after, he disputes the word “sobriety”, deemed too associated with decline, despite Matignon’s instructions to hammer it all the way. A “Le Maire line” is taking shape within the government which, according to those close to him, is none other than Emmanuel Macron’s promise: no tax increase, more attractiveness. But, this August 31, the president urges his guests to ease off on the “special expressions”… Again, eyes are on Mr. Mayor.
The 50-year-old seizes opportunities to get people talking about him – mockers describe him as “the one who honks in the middle of the night in the forest”. His entourage insists on his popularity, comparable to that of former prime ministers, Edouard Philippe or Jean Castex. His ideas for France are scattered in the long series of works he has published since his arrival at Bercy, relayed by a nursery of “Lemairist” deputies, who were his collaborators in the cabinet.
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