very tense exchange between Apolline de Malherbe and Yaël Braun-Pivet

Monday morning, the day after the first round of early legislative elections, Apolline de Malherbe received on RMC Yaël Braun-Pivet and the least we can say is that the journalist seemed to want to do battle with her guest. “You are the outgoing president of the National Assembly. Is Macronism over?”, she told him in the first seconds of the interview. Without losing her smile, the politician replied: “Look, do I look finished? I am in a good position to be re-elected in my constituency so there are many of us leading the fight today. We are the day after a first round, there is a second round, as long as the elections are not over, we cannot prejudge the result”. “Do you really still believe it?”, added the host dryly. A tone that Apolline de Malherbe maintained throughout the interview.

The atmosphere became somewhat tense when the journalist asked Yaël Braun-Pivet to clarify her position on the subject of La France insoumise: “Are you more like Gabriel Attal who says: “Not a single vote for the RN” or are you rather Édouard Philippe who says: “No vote, neither for the RN nor for LFI”?». “I am Yaël Braun-Pivet, I am and I said it yesterday, no vote for the National Rally”she reacted, ensuring that “the distinction within La France insoumise”. “Excuse me for going on a case-by-case basis, excuse me for being nuanced, I don’t treat Caroline Fiat and David Guiraud in the same way”added the President of the National Assembly.

Read alsoApolline de Malherbe: “The daily life of the French is my only compass”

Faced with the journalist’s insistence, Yaël Braun-Pivet became annoyed. “Is it possible today in France to be a political figure and to be nuanced? Is that still possible, Madame de Malherbe? […] You forbid me from being nuanced”she said. “Me? What am I doing? I quote Édouard Philippe who doesn’t distinguish, him”Apolline de Malherbe was surprised.

“In fact, it is my answers that do not suit you and that is very problematic”

Yaël Braun-Pivet to Apolline de Malherbe

The tension came to a head at the end of the show. Considering that her guest did not answer her questions, Apolline de Malherbe preferred to end the interview. “I suggest we stop there because you are very defensive and it is very difficult, therefore, to question you. I am very surprised, I understand that this morning, it is complicated and difficult but if we cannot question you on the territories for example, on the difference with the rural world, the cities…”she explained.

“In fact, it is my answers that do not suit you and that is very problematic.then estimated Yaël Braun-Pivet. You can ask me about the rural world. […] You talked about executive categories, you never talked about rurality so that’s too easy and I think it’s very worrying”she emphasized before adding: “We [Renaissance, NDR] We didn’t do everything right, but the National Rally is a smokescreen. We saw during the campaign that they went back on all their proposals. The National Rally won’t solve any problems. And to solve the problems, we need to build a large coalition ranging from the LR to the ecologists and communists. Doesn’t that suit you? Well, that’s my position and allow me to stand by it. You consider that this dialogue is futile and that this interview is not interesting, well I’m sorry.”.

And Apolline de Malherbe concludes: “I absolutely didn’t say that. I say that when I ask you questions based on the analyzes of IPSOS or Jérôme Fourquet, you tell me that I classify the French and I find that extremely insulting and I take the liberty of saying it”.