Until now, Emmanuel Macron dodged the theme of 2022. A taboo.
"It would be indecent to talk about that", "that's not the subject," he said.
However, the tone has changed.
In his interview with Brut, Friday, the Head of State addresses the subject by specifying all the hypotheses.
Even the most dreaded.
“Maybe I won't be able to be a candidate,” he admits.
Maybe I will have to do some tough things in the last year, the last months, because circumstances will demand it and make it impossible for me to be a candidate.
"And to add, enigmatic:" I exclude nothing.
"
This scenario is reminiscent of that of his predecessor François Hollande, who gave up competing in the 2017 presidential election in December 2016. “At least Emmanuel Macron is not making a fuss, greets one of his relatives.
He is aware of having to manage a particularly difficult crisis.
This admission of the president can however surprise whereas the tenant of the Elysee Palace enjoys a high rating in the polls.
The return of "at the same time"
In fact, this statement deserves to be put in context.
Because it is nuanced at the same time by another exit, facing the same journalists from Brut.
"I have been a candidate since day one, because I have always built myself, built in a desire to convince," says Emmanuel Macron.
Which also says: "If I put myself in the position of being a candidate, I will no longer make the right decisions."
So, candidate or not candidate?
Everything is mentioned and its opposite ...
The interview at Brut marks the great return of “at the same time”.
This strategy consists of playing on several tables, several postures.
This was the winning card for 2017. The other side of the coin: this approach cultivates a form of ambiguity, which can create discontent on all sides.
This Saturday, December 5 provides an illustration.
The day was marked by 90 demonstrations across France against the Global Security Act but also by the anger of the police ...
In vitriolic leaflets and tweets, two unions (Alliance and SGP Unit) denounce the words of the Head of State who for the first time referred to “police violence” and announced the creation of a platform for reporting of discrimination.
“No, the national police are not racist… Mr. Emmanuel Macron, it's shameful!
Writes Alliance, which urges its members to stop doing identity checks.
Other police officers call for a strike of arrests.
The divisive subject of separatism
Anxious not to lose his center-left electorate, while his regal policy has set the bar on the right since the start of the school year, Emmanuel Macron is currently sending signals in “and to the right and to the left” mode.
This is the case for security, but also for the divisive subject of separatism.
The bill will be presented on Wednesday December 9 in the Council of Ministers.
In the meantime, on Brut, Emmanuel Macron played a less clear-cut score than in his famous Les Mureaux speech on October 2.
At the time, the president pointed to a "crisis of Islam, everywhere, which is plagued by these radical forms", and denounced "foreign influences".
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Two months later, the head of state emphasizes the social roots of radicalization.
"Evil is in us," explains the president.
"Those who have this Islamist ideology thrive on our failures", that of "French integration" because "we left the idea to our young and old that they were not part of France.
"These accents recall those of Minister Macron who denounced in 2015" the share of responsibility of France "in" the breeding ground "of jihadism.
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At the same time, the president wants to see the end of the historical work on the Algerian war to reconcile all memories.
He also wants to be honored "300 to 500 names" of eminent personalities originating in Africa or the Overseas to designate streets or erect future statues.
Another “at the same time”: no question of debunking existing statues but new monuments will be built in village squares.
A winning intuition in 2017, will the strategy of “casting a wide net” still be in a France more fractured than ever?
