the essential
In an interview with the magazine She, Emmanuel Macron returns to his support for Gérard Depardieu. A position taken in a context where women seem to turn their backs on the head of state.
Six pages of interview in She… A few weeks before the European elections, which lend themselves more naturally to comments on the dangers of nationalism, the interview given to the women’s magazine by Emmanuel Macron could seem incongruous. Why talk about PMA, menopause, abortion, paternity leave or GPA rather than Putin or Meloni? The Élysée does nothing by chance…
A few days before the Sorbonne speech, in the Macronist discussion loops, a worrying survey was circulating. It reveals that women are turning away from the majority. “We are seeing a real dropout. We are at 16% voting intention among women compared to 22% among men,” a member of parliament then alerts us. And a minister added: “I saw this study, we have a real concern, we need to take care of it.”
AFP – LUDOVIC MARIN
That week, our interlocutors had additional proposals: “I think that seeing Valérie Hayer (the head of the European list, editor’s note) surrounded by men is not a good signal. It’s as if men were campaigning for her. Personally, I would like Élisabeth Borne to get more involved,” said the majority member. “I think we need to remember more regularly everything we have done for women,” assured the minister, for her part.
Terminal in good place
A week later, the macronie, already in offensive mode, decided to check all the boxes. Élisabeth Borne is included in Valérie Hayer’s list in last position, like Marine Le Pen on Jordan Bardella’s list, a symbolic place which aims to make visible strong support.
Tuesday, May 6 in the evening, during Valérie Hayer’s meeting at the Mutualité, the former Prime Minister was widely highlighted. The head of the list herself, during his speech, gives a large place to women. Alluding to the RN, she explains “with them, rights regress! And first of all, those of women. You only need to look at the friends of Madame Le Pen who, in Italy, promote front-end abortion. Or who, in Hungary , force women to listen to the heartbeat of their fetus. […] So, ladies, it’s time to say stop!”
Macron on the move
The interview with the Head of State is part of this desire to win back the female electorate who seem to be fleeing the macronie. Could the support given by the tenant of the Élysée to Gérard Depardieu have something to do with it? At the end of December 2023, before the actor was summoned to court, Emmanuel Macron took his defense, hailing a “huge actor” who “makes France proud” and denouncing “a manhunt”.
The Macronists interviewed refuse to recognize this. But the remarks made by the President of the Republic in the interview he gave to the magazine She keeps him guessing. “There is no complacency in me,” he now assures us. “Just a desire to respect our principles, such as the presumption of innocence.” Emmanuel Macron now claims to have “deep respect, goodwill and great confidence for and in the words of women” and says he is “uncompromising on the issue of rape, domination, this culture of brutality”. “My priority has always been the protection of victims, and this is also the case for the Depardieu affair,” he continued.
In the same interview he explains the idea of demographic rearmament which may have shocked the female electorate and defends in bulk PMA or even birth leave. An offensive which betrays a certain excitement one month before the election.
