It was at 6 p.m. this Monday that the members of Élisabeth Borne’s cabinet received confirmation that they needed to pack their boxes. The Prime Minister’s chief of staff summoned them a few moments earlier to tell them the news. The staging of the departure was choreographed three hours earlier, during a final tête-à-tête at the Élysée between Élisabeth Borne and Emmanuel Macron. “Your work in the service of our Nation has been exemplary every day,” wrote the Head of State at the same time on the social network X (formerly Twitter). You implemented our project with the courage, commitment and determination of women of states. With all my heart, thank you. »
Last July, the retention of Élisabeth Borne at Matignon was announced without enthusiasm, by a terse text message sent by the Élysée to the editorial staff. At the start of the year, here is his leave made official by a tweet, certainly warm. “It is the opening of a new stage after nineteen months of useful and coherent action,” explains those around Emmanuel Macron. Elements of language disseminated by the Élysée salute “the prime minister for courageous and useful action in the country”, “a stateswoman” who “knew how to form a team with the best of the left and the best of the RIGHT “. “We will see the mark of Élisabeth Borne in the life of the country,” we add. As if you had to apologize when disembarking her.
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It must be said that, in her resignation letter to Emmanuel Macron which she made public, Élisabeth Borne makes it clear – if necessary – that she is not leaving of her own accord. “You informed me of your desire to appoint a new prime minister,” she wrote, congratulating herself on having carried out “essential reforms” and citing in particular that of pensions (enforced with article 49.3 ) and immigration law. “While I must present the resignation of my government, I wanted to tell you how passionate I was about this mission, guided by the constant concern, which we share, to achieve rapid and tangible results for our fellow citizens », she adds, paraphrasing almost word for word the socialist Michel Rocard in his time.
By turning off the light at Matignon, Emmanuel Macron has opened a new page with contours that have yet to be defined. Because if he delayed in dismissing Élisabeth Borne, it is because he hesitated until the end on the name of his successor, as he himself admitted to the person concerned Monday after- noon. In a laconic press release, the Élysée therefore indicated on Monday evening, according to the standard formula, that the now ex-prime minister “ensures, with the members of the government, the handling of current affairs until the appointment of the new government”.
So until further notice. While the macronie has lived for several days to the rhythm of incessant rumors, one name has continued to chase the other in the phone calls and messages feverishly exchanged behind the scenes. At the end of last week, the Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu, formerly of the Republicans, seemed to be in the running against Julien Denormandie, a historic Macronist who withdrew from politics after the re-election of the head of state. The former President of the National Assembly Richard Ferrand, very popular with Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron, made it known privately that he did not intend to “resume political activity in the near future”, as revealed Le Figaro.
In the middle of the day, Monday, another name that was hovering suddenly gained altitude: that of Gabriel Attal, whose popularity has soared in an insolent way since he was named Minister of National Education, l ‘last summer. Through a ban on the abaya, a “shock of knowledge” to raise academic standards or severe harassment, the young Macronist prodigy, 34, has established himself as a centerpiece of the government. He is also the only minister whom Emmanuel Macron showered with praise during his interview on the program “C à vous” in December, praising his “energy” and his “courage (to) lead the necessary battles”. . According to the latest wave of the Odoxa-Backbone Consulting survey for Le Figaro, published last week, 36% of French people would like to see Gabriel Attal settle in Matignon, which ranks him in first position ahead of Bruno Le Maire (31%).
Problem: his popularity among his little comrades in the executive is inversely proportional to his rating in public opinion, Gabriel Attal having few allies internally. To the point that he immediately suffered barrages against his promotion. According to several sources familiar with the negotiations, Richard Ferrand, François Bayrou, Édouard Philippe and the secretary general of the Élysée, Alexis Kohler, would have informed the president that they were not at all keen on the idea of seeing him become head of government. Enough to annoy a Renaissance executive: “Fed up, from the cigar club…” Enough, above all, to make the president hesitate, with whom the rule is always the same: the last one to speak wins. However, in this case, those who are “against” would be more numerous and more vocal than those “for”. Perhaps not enough to definitively turn the tide, but enough to change the plans initially planned. Because Emmanuel Macron was considering a two-step decision on Monday.
Also read: At the Élysée, the other reshuffle
After the wishes to the Constitutional Council, the announcement of the dismissal of Élisabeth Borne was to come, then the wishes to the representatives of religions, and finally the announcement of the appointment of Gabriel Attal to Matignon. But the machine stalled at the last stage, instead the president locked himself in his office, hanging on the telephone. From then on, macronie could only get lost in conjectures. “These are adjustments in progress. Attal will be announced early Tuesday, if all goes well,” assured a communicator. “The president wishes, in addition to the Prime Minister, to have a complete system around him, with solid and quality people,” echoed the presidential entourage, confirming a decision for Tuesday morning.
But others spoke more of the wave of doubt that gripped the Macron camp. “I can see the storytelling if it’s Gabriel Attal, but it’s going to question people,” says a minister. How would heavyweights with solid political experience, like Bruno Le Maire or Gérald Darmanin, take the appointment as hierarchical superior of the one who would then become the youngest Prime Minister in the history of the Republic and make them, in fact, from the shadows, drawing all the light to itself? However, there is no question of slipping banana peels under his feet, those concerned shouted Monday evening, hand on heart. “An appointment of Gabriel Attal poses no problem for Bruno Le Maire,” swore someone close to the Minister of the Economy. While Gérald Darmanin’s entourage preferred to evacuate: “He never comments on this type of decision by the president.” Above all, do not insult the future, especially when it is dotted.
The scenario is strangely reminiscent of another laborious decision by Emmanuel Macron for Matignon. At the dawn of his second five-year term, the Head of State had chosen Catherine Vautrin, president (ex-LR) of the Reims urban community, with the profile considered ideal as a local elected official from the right . The person concerned had been received at length at the Élysée, had met the first lady, and had even spoken with Jean Castex with a view to the transfer of power. But, in a few hours, a whole host of people close to Emmanuel Macron banded together against this choice, for different reasons: too right-wing, not experienced enough, support for the Manif pour tous… Result: the president finally fell back on Élisabeth Borne, a loyalist since 2017 with a less divisive profile.
Will history repeat itself this Tuesday, thanks for example to Julien Denormandie, who is more consensual among the president’s grunts? At the Élysée, no one was definitive on the subject Monday evening, except to confirm that a Council of Ministers was indeed planned for Wednesday. Again, until further notice. “It’s starting to take a long time,” sighs an experienced minister. What’s strange is to have announced very loudly that things were going to change, that we were going to see what we were going to see, only to ultimately achieve nothing. », added the same source, railing against the presidential slowness to decide, while Emmanuel Macron announced, during his televised wishes on December 31, a year of “determination” and “rearmament”.
While waiting for the white smoke, Élisabeth Borne in any case thanked her colleagues on Monday evening, during a farewell party organized in Matignon. Speaking after her chief of staff, she gave her speech without knowing the name of her successor. In front of several ministers from the outgoing government – Stanislas Guerini (Civil Service), Thomas Cazenave (Budget), Carole Grandjean (Professional Education), Franck Riester (Relations with Parliament) and Amélie Oudéa-Castera (Sports) -, the elected official from Calvados toasted, also in the presence of the Renaissance deputy of Paris, Astrid Panosyan-Bouvet.
The opportunity for her to thank all the teams who have supported her at Matignon over the last twenty months. Before meeting them for a last goodbye, during the transfer of power with his successor at Matignon. The one who will then become the fourth prime minister of the head of state, after Édouard Philippe (2017-2020), Jean Castex (2020-2022), and therefore Élisabeth Borne. The one, too, who will have the heavy task of relaunching a second mandate that is poorly handled, at a time when a series of major events await the country, starting with the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, scheduled for this summer. This international high mass, which will be chaired by Emmanuel Macron, will however serve as a test for the head of government and his troops: after the Stade de France fiasco in 2022, the country has no room for error on the security level. Especially if the European elections in June end in political failure a month earlier. For the new prime minister, whoever he may be, the first hurdles will be high.
