In an unprecedented political context, the relationship between a resigned prime minister and a reclusive president seems to have cooled to the point of being downright frosty for several weeks.
The meetings between Emmanuel Macron and the various opposition parties should lead to the appointment of a new prime minister who will be successful. Gabriel Attalwho has been managing the day-to-day business in Matignon for 41 days already. An exceptional situation suffered by the young prime minister who saw his relationship with the President of the Republic deteriorate over the weeks. To a point of no return.
“The two heads of the executive no longer speak to each other”
It has become undeniable and the main person concerned is no longer hiding it… Gabriel Attal is in a hurry to leave Matignon. Conformable The chained duckhis relationship with Emmanuel Macron is more than harmful. “I took a bus at the front with its dissolution prepared at the back with some of my ministers,” he said privately, according to the weekly. “Matignon's organized press communication,” comments Philippe Moreau-Chevrolet, a professor at Sciences Po and specialist in political communication, “is passive/aggressive and we are not yet in the head-on interrogation between the two.”
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This situation is quite common in the relations between a president and his prime minister, but several interlocutors confirm that it has rarely been so violent. “The two heads of the executive no longer speak to each other […] a deep and irreversible rupture takes place”, explains the specialist. “Typically, there is a staging of disagreements to resolve issues and obtain arbitration. There, there is nothing at stake, we are in a rough balance of power,” he comments.
A humiliating sequence
The dissolution was an unprecedented humiliation for Gabriel Attal, who was nevertheless first in class at Macronie. The latter actually went from headliner with a surprise appointment to Matignon in January 2024, to forced resignation 7 months later in July. The fault is a dissolution of the National Assembly decided by Emmanuel Macron without his knowledge. Here comes the definitive break.
But, the height of humiliation for Gabriel Attal, he then had to face failure early legislative elections. “He is the only one who adopted a presidential posture between the two towers because from the steps of Matignon, he was the one who called his majority to remobilize against the RN,” recalls Philipe Moreau-Chevrolet. An “incredible” and “unprecedented” sequence because it is usually the President of the Republic who plays this role in comparable situations. Like for example Jacques Chirac in 2002.
After the humiliation of the covert dissolution, an open conflict arose between Matignon and the Elysée. The rupture had a concrete illustration during the internal elections for the leader of the Renaissance group in the Assembly. In extreme tension, Gabriel Attal took over the leadership of the Macronist deputies against the advice of Emmanuel Macron. But as explained the parisianthe resigned prime minister was forced to go to the consultations held at the Elysée regarding his own replacement. Another form of humiliation. Gabriel Attal would have remained “laconic and succinct” during these meetings, according to our colleagues.
“Attal played the game and was a soldier of Macronism”
Gabriel Attal was, however, the ideal candidate, nicknamed for a while “Baby Macron”. He was supposed to rejuvenate French politics and the presidential movement. He had the confidence of the executive and had gained popularity through his brief stint at the Ministry of National Education. A sequence that did not last.
“In the beginning, Gabriel Attal completely played the game and was a soldier of Macronism,” explains Philippe Moreau-Chevrolet, who assures, however, that the young leader was used by Emmanuel Macron to block the rise of Gérald Darmanin. “Gabriel Attal became popular by taking this position as a left-wing person holding right-wing positions, going a bit against his convictions, but it was profitable.”
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However, this instrumentalization had its limits. By not putting Gabriel Attal in the loop about the dissolution, Emmanuel Macron ended up breaking up a relationship that had already begun. “He was pigeonholed… He wasn't associated, he was presented with a fait accompli and on top of that he was asked to campaign,” one observer testified, “he's had enough, it's quite simple.”
But Matignon's hell, which Emmanuel Macron is prolonging by not appointing a new prime minister, should soon end for Gabriel Attal. A new life will begin for him… on the deputies' benches as the leader of the Renaissance group in the Assembly.