Macron blames the “anti-republican front” for the “chaos” in France without giving names or dates to succeed Barnier

Emmanuel Macronpresident of the French Republic, appeared punctually and for ten minutes at eight in the afternoon to announce what was already known: that this morning he accepted the resignation of Michel Barnierfallen just three months after becoming prime minister. He has not given the name of his chosen one for the succession and has limited himself to communicating that he will share it “in the coming days.”

Macron, of course, has taken stock of his decision to bring forward the legislative elections in the summer, with the result of an atomized National Assembly without easy majorities, and of the operation coordinated by the first and third parliamentary forces to overthrow Barnier. “I know that many people are tempted to blame me for everything,” he said, before assuming a small part of the responsibility without lambasting himself. But “the extreme left and the extreme right have united in an anti-republican front” to sow “chaos.”

In his opinion, “they only think about the presidential elections, about preparing them, about provoking them, about speeding them up.” Macron does not give in. He has announced that he will not resign, as Le Pen and Mélenchon request, and will serve a term that expires in 2027. “The only calendar that matters to me is that of our nation, not that of ambitions,” he stated. So their “responsibility” is to “guarantee the continuity of the State, the proper functioning of our institutions, the independence of our country and the protection of all of you.” And, in this sense, it has announced that it will present before the end of the year a budget law that allows “the continuity of public services and the life of the country”.

Macron has also suggested his determination to create a government of concentration that excludes the most radical forces in a very delicate context, with moderate levels of economic growth, with a debt that drowns the accounts, with deficit objectives that are difficult to achieve. achieve without cuts and with a very demanding geopolitical context. The president knows that he must stabilize the country as soon as possible to send a clear message to the French, the Europeans and the markets.

And since Monday, when all analysts anticipated the success of yesterday’s motion of censure, a more or less numerous list of men prepared for the succession appears in the press.

The favorites

One of the names that sounds like a favorite to occupy the position of prime minister is the mayor of Pau, François Bayroua political veteran with whom Macron had lunch this Thursday. He was part of his first government and, like Le Pen, had to go to court for a fraud scandal in the European Parliament. Another candidate is the current Minister of Defense, Sebastian Lecornuthe only one who remains in office since the president’s arrival at the Elysée in 2017. He has remained loyal to Macron and has known ambitions to succeed him when his mandate expires.

The head of the Interior, Bruno Retailleaurepresentative of the most conservative wing of the Republican right, is one of those who could aspire to occupy the Hotel de Matignon, like the former socialist prime minister Bernard Cazeneuve or the former European Commissioner Thierry Breton.

The Paris chroniclers, however, see it as much less likely that Macron will opt for a leader from the right than from the left, given his tendency in recent years or the preference shown in September. The left, in fact, felt betrayed after seeing that the victory of its coalition in the legislative elections did not translate into the main position of power in the Government. Now, the strongest formation of the New Popular Front, Rebellious France, is putting pressure on Macron to close a much more dizzying and unpredictable legislature than the previous one.