« There are times in life when you become the only possible solution. » François Bayrou and his colleagues left for Brussels this Friday, but they did not forget the telephones. At the congress of the European Democratic Party, one of his close friends thus summed up the unprecedented surge of confidence that the mayor of Pau has been experiencing since Thursday.
Cited among the favorites to succeed Michel Barnier, François Bayrou saw his rating rise a notch throughout the day on Friday, particularly after the former socialist Prime Minister, Bernard Cazeneuve, indicated on the microphones of BFM and LCI that he “would make a good Prime Minister”. “He has all the qualities for that, he has indisputable political experience,” explained late in the afternoon the man who was also on the starting line of the Prime Ministers.
“This does not mean that Bayrou will be Prime Minister but it is a strong sign”, assured those around the Norman elected official, well aware that the RN would not leave the door open to a Prime Minister from the left. The two men met Thursday morning, shortly before François Bayrou responded to an invitation… from the Élysée. The Béarnais followed with another decisive meeting, with Xavier Bertrand. The LR president of the Hauts-de-France region, also mentioned to take the place left free by another Republican.
LR and RN not opposed
The discussions appear to have been constructive and the LR staff would not oppose the appointment of Palois. Even if it means putting under the carpet the veiled support of Béarnais for Ségolène Royal rather than Nicolas Sarkozy in 2007. “If it’s François Bayrou, Laurent Wauquiez said it, there will be no censorship from the government,” agreed Agnès Evren, spokesperson for the Les Républicains group in the Senate, Friday morning on BFM TV.
“This does not mean that Bayrou will be Prime Minister but it is a strong sign”
The RN also indicated that it would not censor, at least not immediately, a Prime Minister from the right or the center-right. The François Bayrou hypothesis would present several advantages for the party of Marine Le Pen with whom he finds himself on the desire for proportionality in the legislative elections and the legal misadventures linked to their European parliamentary assistants. In the name of democracy, François Bayrou had also given his sponsorship to Marine Le Pen in 2022 when the candidate for the Élysée was trying to reach the required quantum.
A history of the National Assembly finally notes that François Bayrou presents the “double advantage of being close to Emmanuel Macron but not too much”, that is to say not entirely linked, like the Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu, another nominated candidate. Last minute surprises cannot be ruled out, especially since as during the Olympics, Emmanuel Macron pressed pause on the celebrations around Notre-Dame de Paris.
But after several disappointed hopes, it may be the time for Béarnais. This moment that the Pau political-economic mundillo has been waiting for almost twenty years, sometimes sure of the national destiny of the child of Bordères, sometimes disillusioned by his missed appointments. “What is required are gatherings of personalities who keep their ideas, but decide to work together,” François Bayrou told LCI yesterday. It is the vocation of the center to bring people together. »
