The reprimanding of the Minister of the Economy Antoine Armand by Prime Minister Michel Barnier, after he considered that the RN was not part of the republican arc, is causing tensions in the ranks of the former presidential majority.
This was Emmanuel Macron’s number one demand: the Prime Minister had to lead a “rallying government”. Bring together the enemies of yesterday and probably still today… “We can say that it’s off to a bad start” whispers a heavyweight in the presidential camp.
First hiccup for Michel Barnier: his Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, demands a stricter criminal response from the Minister of Justice, Didier Migaud. Immediately, the Minister of Justice reminds him that justice is independent.
Second hiccup: the Minister of Economy Antoine Armand does not want to open his door to the RN and believes that it is not part of the republican arc. Michel Barnier telephones Marine Le Pen to reassure her and puts his minister back in his place. “It can’t be Le Pen snaps his fingers and Barnier shoots down” annoys a Macronist MP, like many others.
“We can’t give the impression that we are pleasing Marine Le Pen”
An incident which therefore further tenses the central bloc… A reprimand from the Minister of the Economy, and to top it all off, a call from Michel Barnier to Marine Le Pen, is too much for Modem MP Erwan Balanant: “Calling Madame Le Pen to say ‘I apologize if I have a Minister of the Economy who has hurt you’, that shocks me.”
Another Macronist MP is also irritated: “We can’t give the impression that we are pleasing Marine Le Pen”. Erwan Balanant goes further, and asks the Prime Minister for clarification: “Let the Prime Minister tell us that he has a programmatic agreement with the RN. In that case, it won’t happen like that for our political family”.
Threat of censorship
On the other hand, this backpedaling by the government is perfectly normal for the National Rally MP Kevin Mauvieux, who welcomes Michel Barnier’s rapid reaction. “We have always said that the Barnier government was under surveillance by the RN, the voters, the French people,” he emphasizes. “For the moment, we are only dealing with unfortunate words. But if there are unfortunate acts behind it, we have already had it on several occasions, we will not deprive ourselves of censure.”
The threat still looms. And for the left-wing deputies, it is proof that Michel Barnier and his government are in the hands of Marine Le Pen. The Prime Minister is therefore already forced to sound the alarm: unity and discipline. Faced with a majority as weak as it is fragmented and a permanent threat of censure, the path is narrow. And his survival depends on it.
LP with Cyprien Pézeril and Romain Cluzel
