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Deprived of an absolute majority in the Assembly, down in the polls three months after his re-election and more than ever isolated with the defeats of his grumblers Richard Ferrand and Christophe Castaner, Emmanuel Macron will try to finally launch his second term. He must also reassure his camp. His friends describe a “lost” president and worry about what will happen next.
On the ropes since his semi-defeat in the legislative elections, Emmanuel Macron knows he must get back into the ring. So a bit like Jacques Chirac in his time, his young successor is betting on a major television interview on July 14 – with colleagues Caroline Roux and Anne-Claire Coudray at the helm – to bounce back. A formula that smells of the old world but has already proven itself. The alert rating is not far from being reached when the five-year term is barely beginning… If he has already come out of the woods to “assume” his involvement in facilitating the installation of Uber in France, he will have to find words to dispel the impression of a “deal” as his opponents from the LFI and the RN proclaim in unison.
But it is more on the political ground that the head of state is expected. Because nothing seems to work since his re-election: neither his reshuffle, nor his successful international sequence, even less his purchasing power bill which nevertheless provides for the distribution of 20 billion to the French. None of his streaks had the slightest effect on his already dwindling popularity. It is therefore time for him to give visibility to what he wants to do. Do not stick to chapter headings as he skillfully did during his campaign without ever giving real details or a timetable.
“He is in no condition to speak truth to the country”
On the political level, its Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne rather reassured last week during her general policy speech but there remains an impression of a government paralyzed by an unplayable political deal in the National Assembly. She even ended up silencing the internal critics. The reality is that power has passed from the Elysée to Parliament. In private, Emmanuel Macron admits it: “I am not in cohabitation but in roommate. “Elisabeth Borne acting as “syndic” trying to pass the texts of the executive to the forceps. One of his visitors delivers a disturbing analysis: “The French want him to have been forced to re-elect him. And Emmanuel Macron has no reality of the situation. Another describes him as “lost”, “amorphous”, “isolated” and “out of ideas”.
And above all, deprived of his most faithful grognards: Richard Ferrand and Christophe Castaner, two men who fell in love with him. The macronists also seem confused by their “champion”. One of them, support from the start, wonders aloud on the eve of his television interview: “He is in no condition to speak truth to the country. He doesn’t have the strength. It’s up to Emmanuel Macron to find the words to regain control and, at least, reassure those who voted for him.