By leaving his post Thursday, Edouard Philippe provoked contrasting reactions within a political class which does not expect a change of course. On the right, some commented on this departure by recalling the conditions under which the man arrived at Matignon. As Bruno Retailleau did: “Edouard Philippe is someone with whom I had good personal relationships. It has a sense of state. Unfortunately, he did not conduct the policy that would allow France to recover and I do not forget that his appointment had been the instrument of the weakening of the right, "said the President of the Republicans in the Senate.
In the National Assembly, Damien Abad acknowledged a "number of disagreements" with the head of government. "But he is a man whose seriousness, spirit of responsibility and elegance I appreciated. Édouard Philippe deserves respect even if I think he was caught by a majority LREM who pushes on the left, while he wanted to push on the right. ”
»LIVE - Follow the handover to Matignon
At Les Républicains, there are different attitudes towards Philippe. Some are wary of the potential danger it represents for the right when others prefer not to insist on too marked criticisms because, according to them, they would risk drawing away a part of the electorate LR, sensitive to the style of Edouard Philippe.
Peltier: "A terrible balance sheet"
On the other hand, when it comes to judging the results of his action, many do not distinguish between the policy led by the Prime Minister and that dictated by the Head of State. Number two of the LR party, Guillaume Peltier, is on this line. “Like every Frenchman, I take note of the departure of Edouard Philippe. His human and personal qualities are undeniable but he has a terrible balance sheet: debt, unemployment, immigration, insecurity, communitarianism, technocratic centralization ... He leaves a country fragmented, fractured and divided in monumental proportions , " accuses the parliamentarian.
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This assessment of three years of power leaves Olivier Marleix "without regrets" faced with the departure of Philippe. Moreover, for the member for Eure-et-Loir, the event is neither a surprise nor a coincidence. “Philippe had wanted to establish a power relationship with Macron. But that's what you shouldn't do since in Macronie, everything comes from Jupiter. Macron is not like Sarkozy, he does not seek to deal with political forces. He is too proud to admit this kind of behavior. ” And if the French did not want to change the prime minister, Marleix bounced back saying: "that's good, they have Jean Castex" . For Eric Ciotti, the " s nly legitimacy technocratic" responsible propelled to the head of government would be evidence of the "dissolution" of Matignon.
For Jean-Christophe Lagarde (UDI), “the appointment of Jean Castex to Matignon, after Edouard Philippe refused to follow [Emmanuel Macron. Editor's note] in its spending turn, is a clear message! The president wants to govern alone and directly to prepare for the presidential election. It's not too much reinvention, but rather already seen. ”
At the National Rally, Thierry Mariani took over Philippe's departure to target the President of the Republic: “The problem was not the Prime Minister but Macron himself. The arrival of Castex will not change anything… The only useful change will be the replacement of Macron ” .
Read also: Reshuffle: and now, what future for Édouard Philippe?
On the left, the first secretary of the Socialist Party also placed the head of state at the center of the game. Addressing his republican greetings "to the old and the new prime minister" , Olivier Faure estimated that Emmanuel Macron confirmed "Not surprisingly on course" . "The day after will be right like the day before," he concluded.
In the Communist Party, Fabien Roussel, for his part, downplayed the importance of the change of heads caused by the resignation of the government. "It is not the person who counts but the policy that will be carried out," warned the national secretary. According to him, Emmanuel Macron did not need to "make so much noise" if it were to implement "the same liberal policy" .
Environmentalists also criticized the change of tenant in Matignon through the voice of Sandra Regol, the assistant national secretary of EELV. "Words, deeds. Declare yesterday in the regional press that everything is fine with Édouard Philippe, announce his departure the next day. Wish a woman, name only men. Truly, a word of gold, ” she said ironically.
As for La France insoumise, MP Alexis Corbière sees no change in sight. For him, the government wants to maintain "the same unequal and anti-ecological policy" . Then to warn, in a fatalistic tone: "They can completely change the government team ... The same causes will produce the same effects."
