François Bayrou, Emmanuel Macron’s ally who dreams of becoming an heir

Dare “voltage surges” – as he says – successive. For a few days, the ally of always, François Bayrou, multiplies the criticisms. On April 30, in The Sunday newspaperit is the communication of the government that the high commissioner for the plan slays, considering that “nothing was clearly explained” on the pension reform, which immediately undermined its merits. He took the opportunity to castigate verticality, this mania for “to believe that, once elected, it is the leaders who decide for themselves”, ” the base ” before “follow, obey or resign oneself to a decision made above it”. Same salvo three days later in Le Figaro, this time at the end of life. WhileEmmanuel Macron mentioned a law before the summerthe mayor of Pau, a practicing Catholic, says he prefers “accompany death” rather than the ” give “.

Behind the scenes, the president of the Modem wants to weigh on the men and on the line. According to several sources, he threatened to leave the majority if the former Les Républicains, Gerald Darmanin (interior) or Sébastien Lecornu (armies), were appointed Prime Minister. “I didn’t do all that to end up with copies of Nicolas Sarkozy at Matignon”was exasperated in private the one who, in 2007, had hinted that he preferred to vote for the socialist Ségolène Royal rather than for the former president of the UMP, whom he could never support.

From day one, Bayrou – whose support for Emmanuel Macron in 2017 was decisive – has enjoyed a special status. Within a majority made up of little identified personalities and without political weight, he is one of the only ones to make his voice heard. The Head of State’s friends see him as a “scorpio” who can’t help but “prick”. “He is in his role”, relativizes an adviser to the Elysée. Macron himself never stopped ” to treat “ with this both precious and cumbersome ally, not counting his time on the phone with “Francis”, to try to convince him or to cajole him. He doesn’t hesitate to tease him either. This winter, during a meeting at the Elysée devoted to pensions, Bayrou pretended to want to speak, immediately interrupted by the President of the Republic: “François, we read the newspapers, we know…! »

“Is there anyone better than me? »

If he is annoyed, the head of state has integrated the centrist’s recurring criticisms. But these are more and more frequent, like an echo of the doubts that torment the majority. The sequence of retreats has left its mark. And the floating impression of the moment, as if this second mandate were suspended, opens the way to all ulterior motives. From the evening of his re-election, the race to succeed Macron was launched. But this seems to have accelerated. In front of his friends, Bayrou, 71, likes to recall that he will be 75 in 2027, five years younger than the American president, Joe Biden (80), today. He repeats that people oscillate between the need for renewal and the need for experience. In this last category, “Who is available? »he asks in private, before adding: “Is there anyone better than me? »

You have 31.57% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.