Phlegmatic, Michel Barnier pretends not to hear the boos directed at the head of state. This Sunday, September 8, the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games brings to a close, from the Stade de France in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis), the sporting event that has thrilled the country since July 26. Politics and its concerns are resurfacing. But, from the official point of view, is not the new Prime Minister, appointed four days earlier, also in the crosshairs of the whistles of the French people?
Pushed to Matignon by Emmanuel Macron and forced to come to an agreement with the presidential camp, the right-wing man is trying to make it seem that with him a new chapter in the five-year mandate has been opened.
The left is denouncing the “coup d’état” carried out by a president who was banned during the legislative elections in July. It is outrageous to see a member of the Les Républicains (LR) party, which was in fifth place in the polls, come out on top in the state. “Barnier, get out of there, we didn’t vote for you!” led the banners during demonstrations across France, Saturday, September 7th.
To establish his legitimacy, the 73-year-old prime minister asserts a style and “a method”which claims to be the antipodes of Macronism. “I’m not here to brag” “He said on Saturday, on the sidelines of his first trip to the Necker hospital in Paris, in order to demonstrate the priority he gives to health and public services. A way of countering the “performative discourse” Macronism, where much is said without always doing anything and excessive communication by the outgoing executive power.
After years of “whatever it takes,” the septuagenarian also notes that public debt will be under control and moderates expectations. “I’m not here to tell people stories”he blurted out, warning: “If you meet a prime minister who tells you he will perform miracles, be careful!” Finally, to the impatient, he hints that his general policy statement will be celebrated “early October”. A way of saying that the composition of his government will be done at his own pace. And too bad for those who are upset to see a country with a government that resigned on July 16. Michel Barnier wants to take his time, we insist at Matignon.
Avoiding a vote of no confidence
Prime Minister without a majority, the former Brexit negotiator is consulting again and again to refine his roadmap and form his team in the hope of protecting himself, for as long as possible, from a vote of no confidence that could nullify it.
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