Containment: government reviews work habits

Every week, since the start of the five-year term, the Council of Ministers has gone on forever. But this Tuesday ... "If it lasted forty minutes, it's Peru! drops a participant. In memory of Macronist Minister, we had never seen this. Just like the very small number of people around the table. Six, not one more. "

The President and Prime Minister, Christophe Castaner (Interior), Jean-Yves Le Drian (Foreign Affairs), Bruno Le Maire (Economy) and Sibeth Ndiaye (spokesperson), made the trip. But the others participate remotely in discussions on the decree abrogating the second round of municipal elections. Gérald Darmanin from Bercy. Jacqueline Gourault and Julien Denormandie follow together, but at a respectable distance, to the Ministry of Territories. Didier Guillaume (Agriculture) also stayed within its walls.

Prohibited from TV set

While France confines itself, the Head of State hammers the orders. “He has urged us to set an example. In the way to manage our administrations, to organize our work well, to no longer make a TV set and to favor remote measurements, reports a minister. Clearly, we embody the state. We must not fail in our obligations, but we adapt. "

The majority's breakfast, which is usually held in Matignon, was also organized in digital fashion. "Everyone with their phone must call a server and type a code," said one participant. It is through the handset that the guests listen to Edouard Philippe hammering the need to be up to par in an unprecedented political context, much more serious than the crisis of 2008. At the end of the wire, Richard Ferrand, President of the Assembly , and several leaders of the majority (Gilles Le Gendre, François Patriat, Patrick Mignola, Marielle de Sarnez, Stanislas Guerini) with a central concern: to organize the vote of emergency measures in Parliament.

“Highly recommended” telework

The ministerial buildings were emptied by Monday. The order passed this morning is to “reduce the physical presence in the premises”, according to a minister, thanks to a turnover of the cabinet, to the reduction of the support functions (kitchen, cleaning… that is to say those that do not constitute the heart of ministerial activity). Since then, the secretariats have organized themselves into a "brigade", morning for one, afternoon for the other, without crossing paths. Employees have lunch in their offices.

Emmanuel Macron's solemn address on Monday evening noted these precautions a notch. In the process, at 9:30 p.m., Edouard Philippe's right-hand man, Benoît Ribadeau-Dumas, explained to the directors of cabinet of the government the implementation of the measures. "We were strongly recommended not to come to the office any more and to switch everything back to videoconferencing," reports an adviser. This Tuesday, the collaborators present were reduced to the bare minimum. "Most of the cabinet is teleworking," says a minister. "We are four, five", we often hear ourselves answer.

No more trips without Matignon's advice

As of Monday evening, Matignon sent an SMS to government officials with these instructions: “No more physical press conference, but by phone or videoconference; more interviews on set, but by phone, duplex, Skype; no more trips except in exceptional circumstances related to the crisis and after advice from Matignon. "Within the government, some railers remembering" the plateau of TF 1 for election night, Sunday, where the speakers were tight like sardines ".

Invited on RTL this Tuesday morning, Bruno Le Maire was in duplex from Bercy with a helmet on his ears - disinfected beforehand - in front of a technician who wore a mask. Then, he gave a press conference with some 90 journalists ... connected remotely. Government spokesperson Sibeth Ndiaye, for the first time, reported to the Council of Ministers in an empty room, with journalists directing questions from a distance.

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"It's special," slips an advisor, observing that many now favor phone calls, rather than messages on WhatsApp or Telegram loops, perhaps by "need for human contact". Minister confirms: “I spend my day on the phone! "