Emmanuel Macron still saw fit to reassure the troops. The President of the Republic twice affirmed, during a dinner for the majority on Wednesday and the Council of Ministers on Thursday, his "perfect understanding" with Édouard Philippe on the background of press reports evoking tensions between the two, indicates his entourage.
"At a majority dinner, the first since the start of containment (March 17), then at the Council of Ministers, the President wanted to reaffirm the perfect agreement between the two heads of the executive ", According to this source.
He therefore first did so on Wednesday evening, at the dinner attended by Édouard Philippe and the President of the National Assembly Richard Ferrand, "on the eve of important decisions on deconfinement", which the Prime Minister presented and several ministers during a press conference in Matignon.
Edouard Philippe in a mocking mood
Édouard Philippe, it was predictable, did not escape the journalists' questions on the subject. The Prime Minister certified to have "always noted", "in (their) relations", "a fluidity which has few precedents", he added.
Visibly stung to the heart, Édouard Philippe concluded his speech with these words: "Let me tell you that in the moments we are living in, in the midst of a health crisis of considerable magnitude, while French people are doing considerable work to save their fellow citizens, spending more than two seconds writing, speaking, wondering about this kind of subject leaves me very, very circumspect. And I think that our fellow citizens do not care about it in proportions that in my opinion political journalists do not measure. And I must say that from this point of view I feel very French. "
In recent weeks, several media have raised differences between the two men over the management of the coronavirus crisis and the possibility of a future reshuffle.
Emmanuel Macron had already denied, during a council of ministers on April 28, tensions between the Elysee and Matignon and castigated those who "try to divide" the executive.
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Unmissable soap opera of the Fifth Republic, rumors of a disagreement between the two heads of the executive have appeared sporadically since the start of the quinquennium, heightened during the crisis of "yellow vests" and on the choices concerning pension reform.
