This is called the call of discord. Coronavirus crisis management is not easy. Difficult, therefore, to satisfy everyone. Thus, after having spoken several times on the phone and by text with the founder of Puy du Fou Philippe de Villiers in order to settle the question of the reopening of the park, President Emmanuel Macron made a phone call to the humorist Jean-Marie Bigard. The reason ? On May 9, 2020, the actor, known for his many rants, did not hesitate to let go on social networks, denouncing in particular on his Facebook account “How the government is managing the coronavirus crisis” before calling for the reopening of bars and restaurants: "I'm tired of accepting to be locked up like a caged lion and seeing that on Monday everything will reopen except the places of conviviality? Are we going to let our bars, our restaurants, our bistros burst? That's it ?", he railed. Jean-Marie Bigard then asked the Head of State to contact him so that they can discuss this subject “Between men.” No sooner said than done: the President of the Republic finally decided to call him. According to the comedian, Emmanuel Macron even promised him a timetable. "I bring my face back, I shit on the president and the president calls me to say" You are right, it's great ", then boasted Jean-Marie Bigard, at the microphone of South Radio.
A strategy to "fight populism"?
This phone call was however widely mocked on the Web, in the media … and even mocked by François Hollande! Which did not please Jean-Marie Bigard, who once again wanted to make it known. In a Facebook post shared Sunday, May 24, Jean-Marie Bigard spoke again about this. “Some journalists have ridiculed me for several days since I managed to speak to Macron on the phone so that he could listen to my anger which is also that of millions of people […] I would like to tell these journalists that I'm sorry if they can't speak to the President. Maybe they don't have much of an interesting thing to say to him. ", did he declare. "I may not have the press card, but I still have a pair of balls." But internet users and other journalists were not the only ones surprised by the phone call between the President and the humorist. According to revelations from Release Monday, May 24, this conversation between the two men would not pass at all to the members of La République en Marche. In an article called “Bigard, Zemmour, Villiers… when Macron flatters reactions”, our colleagues explain that “The President cultivates his links with some of the most debatable figures on the right” in order to set up “A strategy supposed to fight against populism.”
"The problem is to see him respond live to a drunken drunk who tells us about his balls"
“A small favor to Philippe de Villiers, a‘ nice ’call to Jean-Marie Bigard, a message of support to Eric Zemmour… Even in the corridors of the Elysée Palace, the friendliness of the Head of State for characters embodying populism and the most extreme right goes badly”, writes the daily. "There are still a few volunteers to try a decryption: if Macron talks to the populists, it is because he wants to disarm them by crossing the barriers behind which they make their speeches flourish, it is said in substance." A macronist parliamentarian balances: “The President calls whoever he wants, when he wants. The problem is to see him respond live to a drunken drunk who tells us about his balls. " An adviser analyzes for his part: “If you don't want people sensitive to these people to fall into their arms in 2022, you have to talk to them, show them consideration, show that you hear them. ” A familiar at the Elysée finally concludes: “He knows very well the codes of right-wing culture. Hence the interest, sometimes even the fascination, of its interlocutors. ” An illustration of his famous "at the same time" which allows him to make big differences?
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Read also : Emmanuel Macron: his improbable phone call to Jean-Marie Bigard