Elisabeth Borne’s lease at Matignon seems to have been extended: Emmanuel Macron renewed his confidence in his Prime Minister this Wednesday, during his television interview granted to TF1 and France 2. A declaration which goes in the direction of remarks reported on Tuesday, the president affirming that there would be neither dissolution of the National Assembly, nor reorganization, nor referendum on the reform of the disputed pensions in the street. And on this occasion, the Head of State entrusted a mission which seems almost impossible for his Prime Minister, in the current context.
Indeed, while she is weakened by the pension battle, Emmanuel Macron now asks her to work with the opposition. “The mandate that I have given him is to continue to expand this majority as much as possible, with the women and men of good will who, on the right or on the left or on the side of ecology, are ready on the priorities and the government program that the Prime Minister will work on, to move forward with her”, slipped the president on Wednesday.
An appeal to the deputies Les Républicains
In reality, it is not a question of “a government or coalition agreement”, specifies Emmanuel Macron. This could be done “text by text”, according to him. A barely veiled appeal to the forty or so LR deputies who did not vote for the motion of censure. “They weren’t the whole of a party (to vote for the motion), that’s why I say it’s hard to build coalitions,” said the head of state, continuing: ” But, there are individuals who are ready to work with the forces of the majority”.
However, the task promises to be perilous, especially since the president wishes at the same time that there are “less texts of laws”, that is to say to govern by decree. The first collateral effect resulting from this will is the immigration bill which will finally be cut into shorter texts when it was to be debated in the Senate next week. Finally, the examination in Parliament is postponed, as if the mandate of Elisabeth Borne was already suspended.
The Prime Minister “will conduct consultations with political forces” to “define the parliamentary calendar for the coming months and identify majorities text by text”, but no calendar has yet been defined at this stage.