2023-09-17 19:59:40
The intervention of a “yellow vest”, who came to take the microphone of the former Prime Minister by force before being expelled by security, barely disturbed them. For almost an hour, the liberal Edouard Philippe and the communist Fabien Roussel, who both have presidential ambitions for 2027, debated on Sunday under the Agora marquee. The exercise promised to be perilous for the former Prime Minister of Emmanuel Macron, whose announcement of the presence had triggered an outcry on the left and arrived to the whistles of the public at the Huma Festival.
“Let’s rediscover this taste for debate,” says the national secretary of the PCF, calling, in his voice hoarse by three days of celebration and debate, “for respect.” On stage, the two men speak informally to each other, after a slight hesitation from Edouard Philippe, and unfold their scores for an hour. “One of the bad solutions is blocking prices,” says the mayor of Le Havre and president of the Horizons party, to whistles from the public, regarding a measure demanded by his opponent.
No agreement on pensions, convergence on nuclear power
“We ask that the State intervene in the distribution of margins, from the farmer to the consumer, from farm to fork,” replies the deputy from the North. Concerning the question of public spending, Fabien Roussel tries to reassure his interlocutor: “It would not be responsible to say that the debt is not a problem and that we are not going to pay it.” “As President of the Republic, I am going to ring the debt like a bell in front of the 500 richest people in France! », he adds in front of an audience committed to his cause.
Unsurprisingly, the two men do not agree on pension reform and the use of 49.3. But on the energy question, we see a path towards convergence. “We are not going to be very far from agreeing on nuclear energy and the development of renewable energies,” tries Edouard Philippe. Fabien Roussel agrees by denouncing the “nameless stupidity” of the opposition to nuclear power advocated by other left-wing forces.
Above all, the two men, who enjoy good popularity ratings, show that they can discuss and work together, a good argument for them in the race for the presidential election. “I have communist vice-presidents in my urban community who vote for my budget,” supports Edouard Philippe, specifying that each time the choice presented itself during local elections, he called for voting communist in the face of the extreme right. A call “never joyful but extremely clear”, he asserts, because with the communists, he is used to “arguing respectfully”.
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