Emmanuel Macron, here in Riyadh. On the sidelines of his visit, he ended up agreeing to speak about the Barnier government in front of French journalists who asked him for his opinion on the situation.
AFP
French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that he could “not believe in the vote of censorship” of Michel Barnier’s government, adding that he had “trust in the coherence of people”.
“My priority is stability,” the head of state told journalists on the sidelines of his visit to Saudi Arabia.
According to him, the National Rally (RN, far right) would be “unbearably cynical” if it voted for the motion tabled by the left, “which insults its voters”, while the Socialist Party, and in particular the former President François Hollande, would show a “complete loss of bearings” by voting for censure.
“A dissolution of minds”
Overthrowing the government would be “a dissolution of minds”, “but I don’t believe in it”, said Emmanuel Macron again. He therefore refused to publicly consider the options for replacing Michel Barnier at Matignon, believing that it would be “political fiction”.
“Everyone will take responsibility tomorrow. The government took them, I had given it authorization,” he explained. “The interest of the country is more important than the interest of parties.”
Except for drama
Despite the concessions made by the Prime Minister on the budgetary texts for 2025, the RN affirmed Monday that the head of government had not acceded to all its demands and announced that he would vote for censure, following a debate scheduled for Wednesday afternoon in the Assembly. The votes of far-right deputies, added to those of left-wing elected officials, who have also tabled a motion of censure, should, barring any drama, bring down the Barnier government.
Michel Barnier, as well as the team that supports him, made up of the Macronist camp and the right, warn of a financial “storm” if the government falls without having been able to pass the budget.
“We must not scare people with these things, we have a strong economy,” replied President Macron from Riyadh. “France is a rich, solid country, which has made many reforms and which is maintaining them, which has stable institutions, a stable Constitution,” he argued.
Macron brushes aside the possibility of resignation
While several calls for the resignation of Emmanuel Macron have emanated in recent days from La France insoumise (LFI, radical left), but also sometimes from the RN and even other political parties, the head of state has brushed aside this hypothesis by assuring that “no”, he had never thought of leaving the Elysée before the end of his mandate in 2027.
“They are prey to fixed ideas,” he quipped about the leaders of the RN and LFI, Marine le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon. “Everyone must live up to their responsibilities in the moment the country is going through,” he added.
According to him, “all of this is political fiction, it doesn’t make sense”, “it’s frankly not up to the standard of saying these things”.
“It turns out that if I am here before you, it is because I was elected twice by the French people. I am extremely proud of it and I will honor this trust with all the energy that is mine until the last second to be useful to the country,” insisted the president, who still claims to have “no” regrets. having dissolved the National Assembly.
(afp)
