At the highest state summit, the affair seems to have been heard. Emmanuel Macron even made it known Tuesday evening at the Élysée, during a confidential dinner with several members of the majority. For the head of state, the second round of municipal elections must indeed be held on June 28.
According to our information, he acquired the certainty after the report of the scientific council made public the same morning. And above all, it was the three hours of videoconference discussions at the end of the day with twenty or so mayors of large cities and presidents of associations of local authorities who convinced him definitively.
"Difficult not to choose this option"
“The president joined us for dinner just after this meeting with the elected officials. He told us that the date of June 28 was unanimous among them, and that it would therefore be very difficult not to choose this option, "said a participant in this majority dinner, which included the Prime Minister Édouard Philippe, the tenants of Bercy Bruno Le Maire and Gérald Darmanin, the President of the National Assembly Richard Ferrand, the president of the LREM group Gilles le Gendre, François Bayrou, or the boss of the MoDem group at the Assembly Patrick Mignola.
"He and Philippe almost topped us for this date, stating that it would of course be conditioned on the health status of the country at that time, with a progress update fifteen days before the election date, as scientists recommend it in their reports. "
Ferrand will be "in solidarity with the decision"
The executive couple intends to accelerate and finish now as soon as possible with this soap opera which has only lasted too long. Skeptical about the continuation of the second round in June, Richard Ferrand therefore bowed to the decision too. "I will be in solidarity with the decision," he said Tuesday evening, according to remarks reported by a witness, nevertheless arguing that a poll at this period would put "candidates in a delicate situation on the ground", on the pretext that "some outgoing mayors have used the means of this health crisis to stage themselves, in particular by distributing masks, and therefore to continue to campaign without saying so".
It remains for Edouard Philippe to gather the opinion of the party leaders on the subject, during a meeting scheduled for this Wednesday evening in Matignon. But the outcome hardly cause any suspense, even if he does not expect the same unanimity as with the mayors. In any event, a report will be submitted by the government after its consultations. Most likely this weekend. "If the second round takes place on June 28, a convocation decree will have to be issued before May 27," government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye said in the afternoon. of the Council of Ministers.