It is a violent, brutal rupture. Especially since it takes place in the open air, under the often dumbfounded gaze of the media. The friendship that existed between Emmanuel Macron and Gérard Collomb seems to be buried for good. His former Minister of the Interior made a final betrayal on Thursday, May 28, by announcing an alliance with Les Républicains - after having negotiated with Laurent Wauquiez, the former president of the right-wing party - to prevent environmentalists from winning the metropolis of Lyon . The former socialist was however one of the first to commit, against all odds, alongside Emmanuel Macron in 2016 in his conquest of the Élysée.
May 14, 2017: Macron invested, Collomb in tears
Usually, restraint is political. Like an unspoken rule. But this May 14, 2017, the emotion is too strong for Gérard Collomb. After the inauguration speech of Emmanuel Macron at the Élysée Palace, the mayor of Lyon lets out a few tears. Proud to see that his champion, thirty years younger, has won his crazy bet: becoming President of the Republic ignored traditional political movements. During the review of the troops, Emmanuel Macron takes his cheek. The stage will tour the televisions. Gérard Collomb, who will be designated three days later Minister of the Interior, lets go: "It all begins" . Between the two men, it was actually the beginning of the end.
September 24, 2018: Collomb gets annoyed ... and makes it known
These are words from a lunch with a few journalists who speak volumes. Gérard Collomb has a heavy heart. After disputes over certain measures with the executive couple, such as the limitation to 80 km / h on departmental roads, the Minister of the Interior regretted the lack of support from the Head of State during the Benalla affair. "The sword in the belly, very little for me," he slips. Collomb also deplores the "little sentences" , regular at the time, of the president. “The provincials, and I am one of them, already have a natural tendency to consider that Parisians have big heads and snub them, or expressions like the new grammar of politics or the“ start-up nation ”, they don't 'don't recognize it ...' , he warns. The Minister of the Interior has also already planned to leave Beauvau in 2019, to devote himself to his re-election in Lyon. And thus move away from the capital and its power.
Read also: In private, Gérard Collomb no longer retains his blows against Emmanuel Macron
October 3, 2018: shattering start and moral lessons
After waiting for the Prime Minister to arrive - frantically looking at his watch in front of the cameras - Gérard Collomb lets go. The future former Minister of the Interior took advantage of the transfer of power to settle his accounts, drawing a somber picture of France. "The situation is very degraded and the term of republican reconquest takes in (d) es districts all its meaning " , he deplores, affirming that one should "no longer continue to work commune by commune " but have " a vision to create diversity ”. He warns, lapidary: "Today, we live side by side, I fear that tomorrow we will be able to live face to face" . Beside him, Edouard Philippe, who is going to act for the Interior for a few days, is livid.
Gérard Collomb during the transfer of power with Edouard Philippe AFP
May 28, 2020: alliance with Les Républicains, the latest stab
And the unthinkable came true. Candidate for the metropolis of Lyon, an authority that he himself created and chaired before his arrival in Beauvau, Gérard Collomb only came third in the first round (17.29%). Before him are the candidate supported by Les Républicains, François-Noël Buffet (17.67%), and above all environmentalists (22.62%). Nothing was simple in this campaign for the former minister. He notably had to face a dissident candidacy from David Kimelfeld, his former right-hand man in the metropolis (already a story of betrayal ...), who came fourth (16.97%). To everyone's surprise, the former socialist Collomb finally decides to line up behind the candidate on the right for the second round. All after having negotiated with the former president of LR, Laurent Wauquiez, fierce opponent to the head of state, earlier in the week. The former mayor of Lyon has crossed the red line and is condemned by the entire presidential movement.
On LCI this Friday morning, he nevertheless believes that Emmanuel Macron does not blame him. "He cannot (me) disown, he who has Edouard Philippe (from the Republicans, Editor's note) as Prime Minister", he recalls. Not sure that the argument - which can also be perceived as provocation - is enough to warm ties with the president ... Hence the analysis of an LREM MP attentive to the soap opera: "Their friendship is long over . Gérard Collomb knows that his political career is over. He doesn't give a damn any more ”.
