He had not yet reacted officially.
A few days after having noted that his Horizons party, created in October 2021, and that of the center-right Agir could not merge, Édouard Philippe saw red and withdrew from the “Common House” that the majority had took several weeks to build.
According to several sources, the President of the Republic would have vetoed such a merger.
This deprives the movement of the mayor of Le Havre of substantial financial means.
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Read alsoGuillaume Tabard: "Macron-Philippe, between the two men, the hour of mistrust"
While Édouard Philippe projects himself on the next five-year term and aims to influence the new presidential majority in the event of the re-election of Emmanuel Macron to better clear his way for the presidential election of 2027, the former Prime Minister does not lose his temper in confidences in the newspaper
L'opinion
.
“I don't really understand the strategy of parting with his right flank in the face of the candidacy of Valérie Pécresse.
I'm not even sure that it will win on the left flank, ”
points out the former right arm of Alain Juppé.
Read alsoFusion Agir-Horizons: facing Édouard Philippe, Emmanuel Macron wins a round
If many lend Édouard Philippe presidential ambitions and to prepare his personal ground from 2022, he pretends to be uninterested in it:
“I do not want to be a minister.
I don't want to go to the Assembly.
I'm not asking for anything.
But I don't want to be bothered, since it's a fashionable term.
A clear reference to the interview with the President of the Republic almost two weeks ago, where Emmanuel Macron had indeed told the
Parisian
“to really want to annoy the non-vaccinated.”
Read alsoÉdouard Philippe advances despite the pitfalls set by Emmanuel Macron
These new words from the boss of Horizons will surely lend the flank to those who insist that relations between the President of the Republic and his former Prime Minister are no longer in good shape.
If the tenant of the Élysée has just won a round, Édouard Philippe does not intend to let it go.
If he has always claimed to be "loyal" and "free", the second qualifier could well take over in a few weeks.
"In the political discussion, I do not put feelings, I prefer values, ideas and, when necessary, I accept the balance of power",
launches as a challenge to Emmanuel Macron the former head of government and favorite personality of the French since his departure from Matignon in July 2020.
Read alsoChristian Estrosi joins the party of Édouard Philippe Horizons
Despite this very bad blow, the boss of Horizons hopes to bounce back.
He inaugurated on Saturday in Niort (Deux-Sèvres), La Roche-sur-Yon (Vendée) and Guérande (Loire-Atlantique) a hundred local committees of his party.
Others should follow by the end of the month, before the installation of its HQ at the former headquarters of Jacques Chirac's victorious campaign in 1995. Coincidence or snub to the President of the Republic?