Élisabeth Borne, a “techno” minister and proud of it

“With others, I would have had lots of anecdotes. With her, I don't have one. It does mean something anyway… ”breathes a Walker. Élisabeth Borne, Minister for the Ecological and Inclusive Transition, would it be so smooth? "Deep in the job", completes the same. In charge of one of the hottest and crucial files of the moment.

But no big flights with this minister. If she confides - the only concession to storytelling - to love "the long walks in deserted landscapes", we will not come across Élisabeth Borne off the marked trails. “She didn't make a speech without reading from the first to the last line. She does not like to improvise, nor to give her personal opinion, "says one of those who worked with her at the Ministry of Transport. His cards are always close at hand.

Quite the opposite of these predecessors, strong in mouth and free electrons: Nicolas Hulot and Ségolène Royal, of which she was the director of cabinet. Or a clever politician, like EELV's defector, François de Rugy, whom she replaced at short notice last summer after the lobster affair. Élisabeth Borne, she does not go beyond the framework. “There is a problem of empathy. You have to make you want for ecology. In front of her, it's Greta Thunberg anyway! "Chokes an executive advisor.

She "doesn't print in the media"

The only visible roughness, this electronic cigarette that never leaves it. But also, recently, her few days of vacation in Marrakech, where she flew for the end of year celebrations during the strike of transport. The controversy rumbled but it assumes. “My loved ones, I don't see them all year round, I don't take care of organizing the holidays, I'm not going to impose the place where we are going. "

Even the most benevolent admit it: it "does not print in the media". It is not for want, however, to regularly attend radio studios and TV sets. The ace. The name of the former boss of the RATP, who entered the government in this capacity in 2017, remains associated with Transport. "She could talk about the hours of RN2," breathes one of her colleagues. "This is undoubtedly one of its challenges for the coming months, succeeding in embodying ecology," admits MP Matthieu Orphelin.

A challenge for the one who arrived at the government by "the network of the great clerks of the State" - says a Walker - via Polytechnique and the prefecture. Leaving the shadow of "technos", as they call themselves (to joke) with Laurent Nunez (Interior) and Florence Parly (Defense), his old comrades in ministerial cabinets under Lionel Jospin?

With it, the time for the "ministry of the word" is over

She turns the glove over to knock down what she believes to be an asset. “My mission is to concretely and systematically make the ecological transition in solidarity. It has long been a ministry of speech. Today, it is a ministry of action, she exposes. Today, there is less need to alert than to provide answers. "

What if, after the thunderous passage of Mr. Hulot, the desired effect was precisely this one? “When every week in the Council of Ministers, you have someone who takes over from NGOs, it's unmanageable. Since Nicolas' resignation, the government has given up on the idea of ​​having a strong personality in the ministry, ”observes a macronist.

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LREM MP Jean-Charles Colas-Roy completes: “We don't feel dogmatism, it is very pragmatic. Unlike Hulot, his commitment is not three-fold. He is reasoned. But his profile, to get things done is just as interesting. "Especially since this file is the president who intends to carry it. "The president does not yet fully embody the ecological ambition in France, but it is neither Élisabeth Borne nor Nicolas Hulot before her who can resolve this issue," says LREM MEP Pascal Canfin. It's him. Incarnation cannot be delegated. "

"She is tenacious, does not allow herself to be done"

Her reputation as a hard worker, the type who calls work meetings on weekends, precedes her. In the corridors of her ministry, it is said that as a “hyper demanding, fairly tough” boss, she often knows her files better than her advisers. In this regard, "it is not possible" does not constitute in his eyes an admissible excuse. This earned him an internal nickname, "Madame Borne-out".

"Weighing," she defends, "also means being able to dismantle the arguments of those who want nothing to change. Behind the scenes rustle with his ability to win his trade-offs, as with the abandonment of the Europacity project, the mega complex of Gonesse (Val-d'Oise). Or to defend your budget. A minister, confides one of her colleagues, "capable of telling line by line what should not be touched" to Gérald Darmanin (Public Accounts). "She is tenacious, does not allow herself to be done," says a macronist.

A "leading woman" says one of her colleagues, who did not blink when it was necessary to oust another, Ségolène Royal, dismissed from her duties as Poles ambassador on Friday, and of which she was the collaborator . The only concession to affect is this remark: “I cannot say that this is a very pleasant period. But, she shifts, "if our 170 ambassadors start to demand freedom of speech ..." And we tell ourselves that she must certainly think that the same goes for ministers.

Heading for the regional ones?

"I am interested in a local mandate," assumes Élisabeth Borne. It was said that she was eyeing Montrouge (Hauts-de-Seine). She will ultimately not go to municipal elections. "2020 is a year when I have to be 100% on my task, but there are other deadlines ..." The one that, in the end, the politics itches, think of the regional ones of 2021 in Ile-de-France , but don't say it yet. Where does this desire come from? "It is through the terrain, in the territories, that transformations are carried out," she replies, techno to the end of her nails.