His refusal this Wednesday to return to government caused a sensation.
This Thursday on franceinfo, the president of MoDem François Bayrou assured that his party remained a “full member” of the majority “to rebuild the country” and suggested that he would be a candidate in 2027. “We are a separate member of the majority who want to rebuild the country,” declared the mayor of Pau, estimating that “the country needs more political understanding of what is happening at the grassroots and less managerial technocracy.”
Shortly after, MoDem deputy Jean-Louis Bourlanges denounced a “complete inconsistency”.
Political crisis?
“My support cannot be bargained for” provided that the concerns of the French are heard, declares François Bayrou.
“We are a full member of the majority that wants to rebuild the country.”
pic.twitter.com/WiMXKsuxXb
— franceinfo (@franceinfo) February 8, 2024
Asked about the argument of a lack of “deep agreement”, which he put forward this Wednesday to justify his refusal to participate in the Attal government, François Bayrou insisted on the fact that he was talking about “educational policy” .
Saying he disagreed with “the background music” according to which “teachers do not work enough”, he said that National Education could not “recover in a managerial climate”.
Does his disagreement apply to the entire policy pursued?
“I hope not,” he said.
Also read “It weakens everything”: Bayrou’s bloodshed opens a crisis in the midst of reshuffle negotiations
But he denounced “a drift”.
“The time has come to put things right, to remember why we are here,” insisted the man who readily poses as a wise man, in his position as High Commissioner for Planning.
He notably pointed out “the multiplication of indications according to which we are not going to balance the crisis, we are not going to stop it, but we are acting as if it did not exist”.
“My support cannot be bargained on condition that the concern that a very large number of French people feel, which is reflected in all the polls, is heard,” explained François Bayrou.
A choice that “dangerously weakens” the MoDem
In reaction to his boss's decision, MoDem figure Jean-Louis Bourlanges denounced this Thursday a "complete inconsistency" within the party.
According to him, the choice of François Bayrou “dangerously weakens our camp while discrediting us ourselves”.
“If we were not really satisfied with the place offered to us, it would have been possible to practice support without participation,” criticized the president of the Foreign Affairs Commission in a press release published on X (formerly Twitter). , regretting that the MoDem finds itself in the “opposite” position: participation without support.
My press release ⤵️: pic.twitter.com/YaHaUTHvwp
— Jean-Louis Bourlanges (@JLBourlanges) February 8, 2024
“It’s politically inept and morally degrading,” Jean-Louis Bourlanges also attacked, while the follow-up from the Attal government is still awaited.