Emmanuel Macron will answer journalists' questions on Friday, August 28, at the invitation of the Presidential Press Association (APP), announced Thursday, an exchange that is part of the executive's communication offensive to reassure the French in the face of economic and health threats.
To read also: Guillaume Tabard: "The difficult battle for Macron's credibility"
This question-and-answer session, which will take place in the afternoon, should be devoted to the major issues of this difficult return to school, between new health constraints and a recovery plan to support an economy at half mast.
This is the first time since confinement that the Head of State will find himself facing an assembly of journalists, after months of solemn speeches or discussions in a very small committee. It will not be a traditional press conference - he has only given one since his election - since the meeting will not be recorded or filmed. It comes the day after the press conference by Prime Minister Jean Castex who announced that 21 departments were now placed in the red zone in the face of a virus which "is regaining ground ".
We are 21 months away from the presidential election
During August, the executive decided to postpone the presentation of the recovery plan for one week, after noting that concerns about Covid-19 had returned to the fore, ahead of economic concerns, and to devote this week to a general mobilization against the rebound of the epidemic, explained a government source.
After an active summer break on the diplomatic level, the head of state held a special Covid defense council on Tuesday. The Prime Minister and several members of the government then multiplied the speeches on the health response, with Thursday a long press conference Jean Castex, alongside the ministers of Health Olivier Véran and Education Jean-Michel Blanquer, who also answered a selection of questions from Internet users.
At 21 months of the presidential election, the Head of State intends to show that he can overcome the crisis and if possible put the country back on track by 2022. A date that is already in everyone's mind, including in oppositions of right as of left.
