The President of the Republic is conspicuously absent from the majority’s posters, but does not miss any opportunity to make himself heard. “Overview and commitment,” those around him had promised to describe the posture supposed to be adopted by Emmanuel Macron in this early legislative campaign. At this stage, it is above all commitment that takes precedence.
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For more than 1 hour 47 minutes, he guested on the Génération Do It Yourself podcast by entrepreneur Matthieu Stefani. An interview, posted online this Monday, June 24, which was therefore not carried out by a journalist, and a choice assumed by the Head of State, who intends to “answer the simple questions asked by 68 million French people ”, far from “political comments”.
The President of the Republic has obviously reversed his decision to dissolve the National Assembly. He claims to have respected the “consultations provided for” by the Constitution. But he also accepts having made the decision alone. “We must agree to make certain decisions in the solitude that accompanies the function,” defends Emmanuel Macron.
This followed a painful electoral debacle. While several figures from the majority believe that the dissolution was not necessary, Emmanuel Macron instead thinks that it was necessary. “On June 9, the vote of the French, if it hurt anyone, it was me,” he laments. We’ve been fighting for seven years and you have more than a third of French people voting RN and more than 50% voting for the extremes. »
“A coalition of action”
Emmanuel Macron continues to defend the idea according to which government censorship was inevitable, since the oppositions would, according to him, have united to vote for it during the examination of the budget. If he had not decided on this “return to the people”, he defends, he would have been accused of not “listening to the people”. If he had dissolved the Assembly after the Olympics which had gone well, he would have been asked what bug had stung him, he continues.
This confidence placed in the French – which has aroused, Emmanuel Macron agrees, a lot of anger and resentment within the majority – the president accepts it. “It won’t be anyone’s fault on the evening of the second round. This will be the responsibility of the French. And for me, it’s not a bet (I’m doing)it’s a trust (that I have) » among voters, he insists. By repeating the three options, which, according to him, are available to the French: a left-wing coalition, led by La France insoumise, the RN in power – two “extremes” whose programs would quite simply lead the country towards “civil war » – or the central bloc, the only one capable of “bringing together reasonable people from both shores who would be ready to work together”.
This is, with these anticipated legislative elections, the hope of Emmanuel Macron, who concedes that one of his biggest regrets, in 2022, would be not having succeeded in building a government coalition. “The majority will have to work with other political leaders who can find themselves in an action coalition. This is a profound change, which will make it possible to express differences and find compromises,” he explains, defending the idea of a change in method.
“Reduce immigration suffered”
A coalition, but on what basis? The head of state says he has identified several priorities. Security, to begin with, a theme which would have partly crystallized the vote in favor of the National Rally in the European elections. “Message received,” promises Emmanuel Macron. “We need to go much further on the subject of insecurity and violence against minors,” he analyzes. Going much further means penalizing much more quickly, but also relearning the basics. All without leaving the republican framework. » There would be the divide between him and the extreme right.
Regarding immigration, Emmanuel Macron speaks of the need to regain control of flows, to “reduce the immigration suffered”. While ensuring better integration for those who arrive legally on the territory. According to him, the theory of the great replacement is nourished by the concern of an aging people. And the rise of the far right would also be linked to the role of social networks in public debate. “With social media, emotion is stronger than argument. If you’re on that, the extremes are stronger. As it is structured, people like me are much less audible. The second thing is that networks confine themselves much more in cognitive bubbles (…). People no longer believe much in what is said in the newspapers. »
“We are not correcting the initial inequality enough (…). I haven’t completely unlocked that, I have to be clear.”
Then the president talks about the fight for equal opportunities, against social inequalities. The tenant of the Élysée gives his mea culpa. “We have a society which corrects a lot through taxation and social benefits, which is much more egalitarian than many countries in the world. But we do not sufficiently correct the initial inequality. This is what feeds the feeling in working-class neighborhoods and the countryside to say I don’t have the same luck as someone who was born there, who was born with such a name, with such a pedigree.. I haven’t completely unlocked that, I have to be clear. »
Emmanuel Macron does not at any time in his interview consider the hypothesis of an impeded president. He also boasts of successes. “You can consider that I am responsible for everything that happens in the country, but at that moment, I am also responsible for everything that goes well,” he says. The head of state cites in particular the fight against unemployment and the reindustrialization of the country. But also the school, with the splitting of classes, the annual evaluation, the promotion of sport or music. And then crisis management, starting with Covid.
After 1 hour 45 minutes of discussions, Matthieu Stefani has one very last question to ask the President of the Republic. What advice would he have given to the young Emmanuel Macron when he arrived in Paris? The answer ? “Learn from each of your mistakes. »
