Édouard Philippe will favor his post as prime minister well as that of mayor of Le Havre if he is elected on June 28. He admits, however, in an interview published in the daily Normandy Paris Normandy, that he could be back in his stronghold " much sooner " than the end of the five-year term " I intend to become mayor once I am no longer first Minister, "he confirmed, 12 days before the second round of the municipal elections.
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If Emmanuel Macron thinks " that I must continue my mission in Matignon, I will assume my responsibilities ", he continued, while an important government reshuffle is looming which seems to balance the fate of the Prime Minister, in office since three years. The head of state “ knows who I am, what I embody, what I can do and what I can't do. If he thinks someone else is more useful, I will honestly respect his choice, ”he continued. " So I tell you: if the voters trust me, I will be back in Le Havre. By May 2022 at the latest, but perhaps much sooner ”
Leading in the first round
Édouard Philippe therefore did not deviate from the line he had decreed four and a half months ago, by declaring himself head candidate in his home port where he had been elected in the first round in 2014.
Arrived at the head of the first round on March 15 with 43.6% of the votes, in front of his communist competitor Jean-Paul Lecoq (35.88%), he has since been at the helm in the epidemic crisis, garnering in passing a strong increasing popularity at the national level. An Ifop poll published last week credited it with 53% of voting intentions, against 47% for Mr. Lecoq, but the unknown of abstention poses great uncertainty.
During the next few days of the campaign, he will remain "p irst minister full time, it is obvious, especially in the current circumstances ", he assured, adding that he " adapted (s) on program to take into account the new context of the crisis ”. He thus promises in the " first six months " of his mandate a " considerable effort to help people, businesses, associations, cultural players, young people who (...) have been able to drop out ".
Scratching at the “party agreements ” and “ apparatus negotiations ” of his communist opponent, who will be notably supported in person by the leader of the Insubmitted Jean-Luc Mélenchon on Friday, Édouard Philippe said he was “ fortunate not to be a member of a political party "so as not to" worry about this sort of thing when composing a list (s) ". As for his campaign, it will be punctuated by " meetings ", " phone calls ", " wanderings " ... " I count a lot on the debate next week to compare projects, " he slipped.
