In the tense context of the campaign for the election of the future general secretary of the Renaissance, each calmed conflict between Elisabeth Borne and Gabriel Attal is considered a victory. By exempting themselves from a vote in the executive on Thursday, October 10, with a view to postponing their congress, which will finally be held on November 23 and 24, the presidential troops believe they have secured the essentials. “We managed to save our political family from a reckoning that some Cassandras had predicted”whispers the party’s spokesperson, Loïc Signor.
The decision, however, disappointed one, and not least: Emmanuel Macron. The head of state had suggested to his interlocutors his desire to postpone the internal elections, why not until early 2025 or even until the summer, to avoid the risk of his troops being torn apart in the middle of the budget debate. Before the executive office, Renaissance management even sent an email ordering hypothetical absentees to give a proxy, suggesting a vote on the postponement that ultimately will never take place.
The disappointment adds to another failed attempt, also promoted by the head of state: reaching an agreement between the two rivals to share the leadership positions of the presidential party. Since Attal’s election as president of the Ensemble pour la République (EPR) group in the National Assembly in July, Macron has opposed his former prime minister combining this role with that of secretary general of the Renaissance. power, endangering, according to him, the cohesion of his political family. The initiative this time fell to his former special advisor Philippe Grangeon, who, in office, met the two former prime ministers on October 8 at his home, as revealed politicalwith a view to reaching a solution. Again without success.
“After me, the flood”
In the Elysée we swear that the President of the Republic “does not interfere in partisan affairs”granting only that“He is obviously concerned about the unity of the political movement he started”. But in Elisabeth Borne’s environment, we have the support of the tenant of the rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré who, if he does not take up the pen to officially support her, regularly exchanges with her and activates his relays within the party to carry the presidential message.
On Thursday, October 10, Richard Ferrand returned to the presidency, moved by the publication of a column. “not very spontaneous”on October 6 in Opinionsigned by sixty-two presidents of Renaissance departmental assemblies, to demand that Gabriel Attal lead both the EPR group and the party. A text in which there is never any mention of the head of state. “Either it is careless and annoying, or it is not and it is even more so”He accused Ferrand in his role as guardian of the Macronist temple, causing the irritation of those close to the president of the EPR group.
You have 51.03% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
