Winter garden of the Élysée. Emmanuel Macron arrives a little less than thirty minutes late, this November 25. “For him, it’s already not bad,” quips a participant, used to presidential deadlines. Gray jacket and turtleneck sweater, the head of state appears relaxed in front of the twenty hand-picked guests.
Unsurprisingly, the left wing of the macronie is (for once) in the majority to attend the decoration ceremony of Élisabeth Borne: the former ministers Jean-Yves Le Drian, Clément Beaune, Olivier Dussopt, Julien Denormandie… But also Aurore Bergé, one of the only representatives of the right wing. Also among the guests: the secretary general of the Élysée, Alexis Kohler, the companion and son Borne, but also, more surprisingly, his former chief of staff, Aurélien Rousseau, now a deputy… of the New Popular Front.
In a “very very laudatory” speech according to one participant, but quite short (ten minutes), Emmanuel Macron salutes the personal and professional journey of his ex-Prime Minister. She, ward of the nation, become head of government, attached “to the life of the French which for you is not a decoration”. Facing him, Élisabeth Borne does not hide her emotion. Then the statement becomes more political: “You have made the choice of unity in the face of the temptation of individualism and going it alone. »
She smiles and knows very well what her former boss is referring to. The president greatly appreciated his withdrawal from the race for the head of Renaissance in favor of Gabriel Attal… In passing, he is sending a message to potential contenders for his succession. “The most likely scenario for 2027 is to have several applications from the central bloc. And the president will do everything to avoid it,” confides those around him.
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Conversely, by renouncing the internal election, Élisabeth Borne seems to have scored points. “It’s true that Macron integrates it much more into the political discussions of the moment,” notes a person close to the head of state, even though the twenty months at Matignon were punctuated by deep disagreements and tensions between the two heads of the executive (pensions, immigration, etc.).
Without forgetting the past, the two political figures see the benefit of patching things up. For him, the desire to bring his political family together. For her, her reintegration into the Macronist galaxy. After the speech, Emmanuel Macron and Élisabeth Borne had a one-on-one lunch. A meeting certainly much more relaxed than two years ago.
