The last council of ministers before the summer break will not be like the others.
While Prime Minister Jean Castex and the rest of the government will, as traditionally, be meeting at the Elysee Palace, Emmanuel Macron will be in the clouds.
It is indeed on board the presidential Airbus A330, after takeoff from Polynesia where he made a four-day visit, that the Head of State will chair the weekly meeting from 1 p.m. (Paris time). this Wednesday.
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Initially, it was planned that Emmanuel Macron would do the council of ministers by videoconference from Papeete and the residence of the High Commission of the Presidency, but on Tuesday the Elysee had made it known that he could also do it from the plane.
A hypothesis that a member of the government believed to be able to sweep away with a smile a few hours earlier: "It won't be on the plane, as soon as Pegasus listens to us ..."
The plane has the necessary equipment
But the president's entourage therefore finally decided on the plane, which is specially equipped so that the head of state and his delegation can stay in contact with the outside world thanks to high-speed links.
It also has a meeting room.
“Of course it's secure, insists the Minister of Overseas Sébastien Lecornu, who was traveling Polynesia.
The plane has the necessary equipment, there is nothing to fear ”.
Before leaving Polynesia, the Head of State notably gave a speech in Papeete, during which he notably addressed the sensitive issue of the consequences of the nuclear tests carried out by France in French Polynesia from 1966 to 1996.
If this is unprecedented from the plane, the organization of the Council of Ministers by videoconference is now well established after eight months, between October and June, during which the number of face-to-face meetings was very reduced due to restrictions linked to the Covid-19 crisis.
More classically, government spokesman Gabriel Attal will report back at the end of the meeting from the Elysee Palace.
