He is an exception among the figures of the presidential majority.
The day after Emmanuel Macron's re-election to the Élysée against Marine Le Pen, the names of a possible replacement for Jean Castex at Matignon continue to circulate at the top of the State: Bruno Le Maire, Amélie de Montchalin, Julien Denormandie, Élisabeth Borne... Notice to the re-elected president, however: Édouard Philippe is not seeking this function.
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Aware that going twice through Matignon is a singular situation – which only Jacques Chirac has experienced – the former Prime Minister is categorical.
"I am not a candidate to return to this post"
, he slips at the turn of a long interview with his predecessor Manuel Valls, granted at the end of January to
Horizons La Revue
- the new magazine of his party sent Monday to his members, which
Le Figaro
has obtained.
The remark is not a response to a proposal: Emmanuel Macron does not consider this option.
While Jean Castex has already announced that he will submit the resignation of his government to him without delay, the Head of State is looking for the profile of a neo-Prime Minister to compose a new team, expected in the first half of May.
He would even
"wish for a female appointment to Matignon"
, assured Monday on BFMTV his Secretary of State for European Affairs, Clément Beaune.
“Presiding is more difficult than governing”
Édouard Philippe himself is instead turning to the presidential election of 2027, although he publicly denies it.
In his interview, where he evokes both freedom, secularism and even the future of New Caledonia, he details his vision of the exercise of power, underlining the difference between "preside" and "govern".
“Presiding is more difficult than governing because it is an exercise in indirect management: you define the objectives, but you try to ensure that others achieve them.
It's very complicated,”
he said.
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In the short term, the mayor of Le Havre intends
to "weigh in a majority"
, he recalls, he who wishes to
"root"
and
"expand"
it .
To do this, he intends to present candidates from his recent party, Horizons, to the legislative elections, subject to an agreement with the other Macronist parties.
“Will Horizons take its share in the majority?
Yes, we are here, our vocation is to support the President of the Republic and to ensure that the five-year term is a success”
, he insisted on April 18 in an interview with
Le Figaro
.
All in his desire to develop a
“long-term strategy for France”
, the mayor of Le Havre also wishes to feed the debate.
This is the meaning of his review of opinions.
With great support from intellectuals - the political scientist Dominique Reynié, the liberal philosopher Gaspard Koening -, from former ministers - Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Christian Estrosi, Nathalie Loiseau - and from parliamentarians - Claude Malhuret, Thomas Mesnier, Naïma Moutchou -,
Horizons The Review
sweeps across multiple themes.
From African demography to political radicalism, including the country's agricultural future.
A way for Édouard Philippe to set himself up as the instigator of the “battle of ideas” in the majority.