MACRON. An interview that Emmanuel Macron gave to Point is to be published this Wednesday, August 23. The Head of State must specify the sites for the start of the school year as well as his “major political initiative” involving discussions with the opposition.
[Updated on August 23, 2023 at 2:33 p.m.] The time for political return has come for the President of the Republic. Emmanuel Macron went back to work this Wednesday, August 23, 2023 with a Council of Ministers, a meeting during which the Head of State cited the major projects for the start of the school year and drew the outlines of his “major political initiative” . Details which must also be presented to the French in an interview with Emmanuel Macron to appear in Le Point this evening.
The Head of State’s introductory speech to his ministers as well as the Prime Minister’s interview on France Bleu at the end of the weekly meeting already give clues as to what Emmanuel Macron could announce. A meeting date between the President and the representatives of the opposition is even set for August 30, according to Le Parisien.
It is a new year without an absolute majority which is announced for the executive, but the President has indicated that he wants to carry out a number of projects which will not be able to pass without a positive vote in the National Assembly. The objective is therefore simple: “to try to unite [the oppositions] around a clear and simple project all those who want to find their way, without asking them to join everything” with the major political initiative. And this work of discussions will begin on August 30 with the invitation of the political forces present in the Assembly and the Senate sent by the Elysée. After discussions, the Head of State hopes to reach consensus on partisan measures or referendums. This initiative does not seem to stray too far from the executive’s strategy of seeking majorities on a case-by-case basis according to the texts.
All the political forces were contacted by the presidential palace and invited to take part in the discussions and all “responded favorably, including the RN of Jordan Bardella and La France insoumise of Manuel Bompard”, underlined a close friend of Emmanuel Macron in the Ile-de-France newspaper. A decision that agrees not to add to the political deadlock that is going on in the National Assembly. However, Emmanuel Macron spoke at the beginning of August of a desire to exchange with the “republican arc”, including all the opposition parties with the exception of the National Rally and La France insoumise. If the date of the meeting is agreed, the place does not seem to have been decided yet, an adviser simply specifies that the meeting will be held “outside the Élysée”.
The executive will therefore talk to all the opposition, but Emmanuel Macron could make more efforts to convince the right, the vote of the Republican group may be enough to pass a bill as was the case with the pension reform. But also because the majority is not calm about the hypothesis of a motion of censure tabled or voted by the LR party and which would then be able to overthrow the government. A scenario that could arise in the fall with the presentation of the finance bill and the social security financing bill (PLFSS) to the National Assembly at the end of September. Prepared for all eventualities, the Prime Minister assured BFMTV that she was ready to use Article 49.3 of the Constitution to pass the texts. A choice that will not be without risk.
Relations between the majority and the right are also likely to become strained during the examination of the immigration bill. On the subject, the right continues to demand a tougher policy when Emmanuel Macron opposes a too pronounced turn to the right, for fear of losing the left wing of the majority on the way. Still, with an interview given to Figaro Magazine and another to Point in a month, the Head of State seems to bend slightly and want to address more particularly the right.
Even before the publication of the interview, one of Emmanuel Macron’s announcements is known: there is “no question” of increasing taxes according to the formula used by Elisabeth Borne on France Bleu, a point on which the Head of State in the Council of Ministers. In addition to taxes, announcements at the sovereign level are expected after the remarks made by the President of the Republic before his ministers on July 24. He recalled the necessary return of “order, order, order” after the riots observed in response to the death of Nahel (young man killed by a policeman in Nanterre, editor’s note). This order must also go through “authority at school” and “parental authority”, enough to assume a measure in National Education, a priority for the return of the President.
Other appointments will quickly occupy the executive at the start of the school year. Starting with the Rugby World Cup held in France a few months before the 2024 Olympic Games, two events that should contribute to the influence and independence of the country. International political issues will also quickly be on the agenda with the G20 summit organized in early September.
