The longest hours of the second five-year term. The motion of censure against the government of Elisabeth Borne was rejected on Monday March 20 by nine votes, enough to weaken the executive a little more, already mired in the battle for pension reform. Despite this snub, the Prime Minister said she was “determined to continue to carry out the necessary transformations”, reports Le Parisien.
Relatives describe her to the daily as “determined to stay in her post”, adding: “Her personal case matters little, she is not concerned about her political future. The President of the Republic gave her a sheet of road: save our social system. So she’s sticking to that. She’s in resistance mode.” Resist yes, but for how long? Above all, is Emmanuel Macron on the same wavelength as the Matignon tenant?
The Head of State will speak this Wednesday, March 22 at 1 p.m., live from the television news of TF1 and France 2. A first speech since the announcement of the use of 49.3 to pass the pension reform, which has enraged the trade unions, but also public opinion. The president’s popularity rating is at its lowest since 2019 according to the Sunday Journal’s monthly barometer, unveiled on March 19. Emmanuel Macron is 28% satisfied among those questioned, a drop of 4 points and 70% say they are dissatisfied. It is still 5 points above its lowest level (23%) reached in 2018 at the height of the Yellow Vests crisis.
What could Emmanuel Macron announce this Wednesday, after the debacle in the National Assembly? Will he seek to convince, to seduce, to appease? Will he announce a reshuffle? The meeting this Tuesday morning, in the company of many ministers, provided some answers to these questions.
What to expect from Emmanuel Macron’s speech on Wednesday noon? To various media, including Midi Libre, the president’s entourage explains that the latter made “the choice of territories, at a time, at midday, when many French people return home for lunch”. During this interview, he will answer questions from Julian Bugier and Marie-Sophie Laccarau.
Regarding the substance of the interview, nothing has filtered and it is therefore, for the time being, assumptions. Pension reform, the choice of 49.3, mobilization in the streets… These themes should be addressed by journalists and the Head of State during the interview, but should we expect political announcements, in particular in what about the government? We know what it is about a future redesign…
After the rejection of the motion of censure, Emmanuel Macron decided not to dissolve the National Assembly, nor to reshuffle the government. No question, either, of calling a referendum, according to a participant in the meeting this Tuesday morning at the Elysée. Asked by Agence France-Presse, a relative explains that the Head of State has asked his troops for “proposals” “within two to three weeks maximum” with a view to a “change of method and reform agenda.
“Clear” projects, on a “clear agenda” and with a “clear method” would have been mentioned by Emmanuel Macron. The objective: “Avoid ending up in a dispute over the legitimacy of a text”, according to a relative interviewed by Agence France-Presse, quoted by BFMTV.
