Containment: the executive fears an exacerbation of French fractures

It is an indicator, notes a close friend of Emmanuel Macron, "that everyone is looking at the government": the acceptability rate of confinement. For the time being, almost all French people consider it necessary. Proof, in the eyes of the executive, that the country remains united in "the war" against the coronavirus, according to the semantics in force at the top of the State.

"Today, the awareness of the fight that must be fought together seems to me to be generally shared", welcomes the Minister of the Interior, Christophe Castaner. Beware of the effects of time ... "If that erodes, that's where it becomes dangerous," slips a lieutenant of the president. Behind the scenes, some go so far as to fear “civil disobedience movements” between now and the deconfinement.

Majority executives or ministers recognize this, the specter of division hovers. Those with ties beyond the capital have in mind the resurgence of a "Paris / Province" opposition. “The Parisians who have gone to the countryside have left their mark. It looked bad. People say: They are going to clog up our emergencies, "said a member of the government. Another abounds: "I had many echoes of the type: These Parisians who came to infest our territories ... "

"There are fractures at work in our society"

This same minister sees there springs identical to those of the yellow vests crisis. "It is not the end of history ..." In filigree, the question of economic and social inequalities. "There is France of telework, and that of industry, of low-skilled jobs, which makes the economy turn by taking risks", summarizes a deputy LREM.

“There are fractures at work in our society, which are very exacerbated in the crisis. The way we experience confinement differs depending on where we are. There are those who leave because they have the means, and those who are singled out because they do not respect confinement enough. There is France of teleworkers against that of frontline workers. SMEs, which are in serious danger, and those who are too big to fail (note: too big to go bankrupt) . It is a major risk for our country ”, estimates the owner of LREM, Stanislas Guerini.

Admittedly, he finds “positive springs” - that “sometimes manual trades, too often devalued, are rehabilitated” for example. But he wants the presidential party to question itself in these terms: "Do we, too, have our share of responsibility in the aggravation of certain fractures?" "

"There are the seeds of the worst, division, and of the best, solidarity"

In Matignon, we refuse to wear "dark glasses". Spinning the military metaphor, a close friend of the Prime Minister underlines: “When we are in combat, we also look at what works. And this country works. "And to praise, the homage to the caregivers paid every evening at 8 pm," educational continuity "ensured by the teachers, those who telecommute while keeping their children at home ... Or of course, respect for confinement. “Everyone is doing their best. Most of the French are on coal, ”insists rue de Varenne, to better emphasize that the crisis is also consolidating the country.

“The effort is collective. By dint of talking about division, asking these questions, we put them in people's heads, "grumbles a cadre of the majority, fearing that Marine Le Pen would prosper on this idea. Another prefers to see solidarity between regions, illustrated by the establishment of an aerial health bridge between Grand Est and Toulouse. A minister noted that farmers who have been singled out recently have seen their coat of arms restored.

Political Newsletter

I'm registering

Your email address is collected by Le Parisien to allow you to receive our news and commercial offers. Find out more

A relative of the president is concerned, however, for the future. "The deconfinement, it will be another pair of sleeves," blows the same. Many fear heated debates on health, political, economic or public liberty issues. At a recent meeting in Place Beauvau, attention was even drawn to "strong issues of maintaining order" by this deadline, against a backdrop of social demands. “There are the seeds of the worst, division, and of the best, solidarity. It all depends on how it will turn out. But we lack a bit of perspective, ”observed a minister. As one of his colleagues noted in a somber tone: “For the moment, we are counting our dead. "