Sunday, April 24, 7:55 p.m.
After reading the estimates for the second round of the presidential election in his office, Emmanuel Macron descends the grand Murat staircase from the Élysée and reaches the village hall.
His closest collaborators await him there: the secretary general of the Élysée, Alexis Kohler, his communicator, Clément Léonarduzzi, his pen, Jonathan Guémas, and his political adviser, Thierry Solère.
Prime Minister Jean Castex, the Minister of Overseas, Sébastien Lecornu, the boss of LREM, Stanislas Guerini, his faithful historical, François Patriat, are also there.
Facing the big screen, surrounded by his wife Brigitte and their grandchildren, he watches his face appear in silence.
He was re-elected President of the Republic by more than 58% of the votes against the RN candidate, Marine Le Pen.
"He didn't overreact.
He was quite stoic.
For me, he was already in the suite, ”says a guest.
The activists gathered at the Champ-de-Mars in Paris, they explode with joy.
But, at 8:03 p.m., there is only France 2 election evening, broadcast live, that we hear.
DJ Vanetty will have to launch Daft Punk's hit, with the ostensibly apt title "One more time" (again), to warm up the atmosphere a little, which subsides quite quickly.
At the back of the small plot of park reserved for the occasion, the vast lawns will remain empty all evening.
Point of popular jubilation to celebrate this re-election.
Read alsoPresidential: Emmanuel Macron re-elected, but already under pressure
Echoing this confidence from a minister: a few minutes earlier, at campaign headquarters, the atmosphere was certainly “not one of shameful victory”, but “modest”.
Scalded by the first round, during which the first estimates had given them cold sweats, the Walkers had also studied the scenario of a defeat, during the meeting of spokespersons chaired by Gabriel Attal and Julien Denormandie.
The elements of language were ready in the mode "we have always said that a president re-elected outside cohabitation, that has never been done".
A grandiose staging, a short speech without lyricism
Symbolically, the first phone call to which Emmanuel Macron answered was that of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, "under Franco-German friendship", according to the Elysee.
Then, around 8:20 p.m., as is Republican tradition, Marine Le Pen called the re-elected president to congratulate him.
At the Élysée, Macron takes another forty-five minutes to greet his grumblers, to reminisce with them about the memories of his first victory five years ago.
At 9.30 p.m., he finally takes the stage at the Champ-de-Mars.
Less grandiloquent than in 2017, when he crossed the courtyard of the Louvre with an exaggeratedly slow pace, he is not walking alone this time.
But accompanied by about thirty children (those of his team members and campaign volunteers) and his wife, whose eyes mist strangely as they approach the scene.
As in 2017, Macron has taken care of the decorum: behind him, the Eiffel Tower rises in the night.
Beethoven's “Ode to Joy”, which serves as the European anthem, resounds.
Like five years ago at the Louvre.
But this time, the atmosphere is much more measured, and the president shows restraint.
VIDEO.
"I know what I owe you": Emmanuel Macron's speech in full
In contrast to the grandiose staging, on the platform, his speech is brief – barely fifteen minutes – and without lyricism.
His remarks quickly darkened: "I know that many compatriots voted to block the ideas of the far right, I want to thank them and tell them that I am aware that this vote obliges me for years to to come.
I am the custodian of their sense of duty and their attachment to the Republic”.
The re-elected head of state promises a “new era” and not the “continuity” of the previous one.
A five-year term where “no one will be left by the wayside”.
“I am no longer a candidate for one camp but the president of everyone,” he swears.
The re-elected president knows he must reach out to his opponents if he is to govern a fractured country.
So he advocates “benevolence” and “respect”.
“Anger and disagreements must find an answer,” he promises.
If the tone is serious, it means that the “years to come will not be peaceful”.
Read alsoThe highlights of election night
“We are relieved, because the campaign was tough, nothing caught on”
A pillar of the campaign evokes him, “a hybrid feeling”.
Five years ago, Emmanuel Macron had indeed promised to do everything so that the French have "no longer any reason to vote for the extremes".
The 2022 presidential election will have delivered another result… “Other democracies have fallen into populism and extremes, the French did not do it, they thwarted that fate”, relativizes the general delegate of LREM Stanislas Guerini.
“He is still not at 60% and she is at 42%.
With, in addition, 10% of blank and invalid ballots, it's huge.
This means that the country is still very right and that in the next legislative elections, the RN will be very high”, worries a minister, who even predicts “a hundred RN deputies next June”.
Read alsoRe-elected, Emmanuel Macron now has a five-year term to bring together
At 10:30 p.m. only, the music has already died down, the activists are on their way out.
The media finish their speeches.
The lawns behind the bleachers are still empty.
“We are relieved, because the campaign was tough, nothing caught on, we were in permanent false flat, slips one of its craftsmen.
We will have to recreate the link.
The toughest looms for his champion.