The resident of Place Beauvau has occupied the field in recent weeks, even if it means rushing with his statements. Franceinfo looks at the government’s number 3 hyperactive strategy.
“Gérald Darmanin has the president’s ear”, finds a heavyweight of the majority. Often perceived as isolated at the top of the state, Emmanuel Macron appreciates the political analyzes and intuitions of his Minister of the Interior, whom he considers connected to the field. “He is in a niche that very few occupy, no one can imitate him in government. In addition, he is absolutely loyal to Macron”, explains a close friend of the minister. The number 3 of the government will once again be alongside the Head of State at the Elysee Palace, Monday, April 17, for a post-decision working meeting of the Constitutional Council on pension reform.
At the start of an often chaotic five-year term, the young 40-year-old minister has made himself indispensable to the president. He has been running the Ministry of the Interior for almost three years and we have to go back to the socialist Jean-Pierre Chevènement (1997-2000) to find traces of such longevity in Place Beauvau. Gérald Darmanin therefore benefits from a great deal of leeway and he does not hesitate to use it. “As soon as he speaks, he triggers something, a controversy or other. He has a knack for throwing stones into the pond”observes Gaspard Gantzer, former communicator of François Hollande. “I don’t share his ideas, but from a communication point of view, it’s well done.”
“Today, we do not know the name of 80% of the members of the government, because they come out of lukewarm water. He stands out, says a personality.”
Gaspard Gantzer, communicatorat franceinfo
Since his arrival at the Ministry of the Interior in July 2020, Gérald Darmanin has been used to controversy, whether about police violence, halal and kosher supermarket shelves or even about the abolition of slavery in overseas territories. In recent weeks, the minister has once again stepped up to the plate in the face of accusations of police violence during the demonstration against the “mega-basins” in Sainte-Soline (Deux-Sèvres). While defending his doctrine of maintaining order, he did not hesitate to denounce in turn the “ultra-left threat” And “the intellectual terrorism of the extreme left”to be qualified in the JDD Jean-Luc Melenchon from “pyromaniac” or even to attack the League of Human Rights (LDH) by questioning before the senators on the relevance of the public financing of the association.
“He occupies the space brilliantly”
His remarks aroused the indignation of the oppositions, who in reaction denounced the “lies” of the “first cop of France”. “He lied about the use of LBD, he lied about the weapons of war, he lied about the Brav-M”, for example listed on franceinfo the ecologist Yannick Jadot. He does “permanent provocation” And “responds to drift with drift”also reprimanded the deputy Les Républicains Aurélien Pradié. “Gérald Darmanin has the temptation to become an agitator in the electoral campaign.”
The exits of the Minister of the Interior are not unanimous either within his own majority. “We must not fall into a hysterization of the debate, into conflictuality and into the strategy of tension”warns Macronist MEP Pascal Canfin in The world. “His comments on the LDH shocked me”slips a member of the MoDem. “He could have taken the time to recall that the LDH is legitimate and that, in our country, it is good to have associations, even those critical of state action”, continues Renaissance MP Eric Bothorel.
“It would be good, moreover, not to overestimate the danger of terrorism from the ultra-left.”
Eric Bothorel, Renaissance MPat franceinfo
“It’s not the strategy of tension, it’s a strategy of reality. Its priority remains to ensure the security of the country”defends the entourage of Gérald Darmanin. “He does not hide behind polite formulas to say things”also believes Renaissance MP Violette Spillebout. “He is outspoken, sometimes in flowery language, but he has a sincere relationship with the French, adds majority MP Pierre Cazeneuve. It may seem a little abrupt, but one cannot criticize on the one hand the invisibility of certain members of the government and complain when a minister occupies the space brilliantly.
Invested on all fronts
In fact, the former campaign manager of Nicolas Sarkozy (during the primary in 2016) is one of the most prominent ministers since the re-election of Emmanuel Macron a year ago. “He has retained Sarkozy’s message well: as Minister of the Interior, you have to be extremely present, both on forest fires and with the police and the gendarmerie. As a result, he is hyperactive, he is everywhere”, observes Senator LR Roger Karoutchi. Omnipresent, the minister runs on two or three trips a week. On April 12, he went to Gironde to announce means in the fight against fires. On the 14th, at the National Police School in Nîmes (Gard). On the 17th, he will be in Seine-Maritime for an exchange with reservists and police. “He often repeats that his office is the field”explains an adviser.
“He’s still a local elected official in his behavior, it allows him to bring up the problems. It’s the key to popular common sense.”
An adviser to Gérald Darmaninat franceinfo
“He learned this lesson from Xavier Bertrand, who said: ‘If I stay in my office, I’m dead'”, also confides a close friend of the former mayor of Tourcoing. The Minister thus weaves his web according to his travels in the territories as well as beyond the borders. He traveled around thirty times abroad in 2022, count The Parisian. Enough to perfect an international stature, despite some shortcomings in English. And despite this busy minister’s agenda, this young father of two very young children still finds time to invest in the presidential party.
The former elected representative of the Republicans is thus a member of the executive committee of Renaissance and secretary general delegated to the training of elected officials. “He is very active, he brings his experience, because he knows how a partisan apparatus works”, greets Loïc Signor, spokesperson for the presidential party. The minister is also president of the departmental assembly of the North. “He likes to take the pulse. He often calls me or sends me a WhatsApp message to ask me how I feel about things or to find out if a problem has been solved”says the deputy of the North Violette Spillebout.
Speak (and seduce) on the right
Over the months, the minister has succeeded in winning the hearts of some parliamentarians. “Darmanin is not my cup of tea. Afterwards, he is one of the best politicians, he is the most skilful in his way of managing the majority. We are invited every four mornings for breakfast”notes an influential deputy from Renaissance. “We work very well with his cabinet, he knew how to surround himself. We have quick answers, they are available quite easily and this is not always the case with ministries”adds another deputy of the presidential party, Ludovic Mendes.
Gérald Darmanin also speaks to part of the parliamentary right. “He is the most political minister of the moment, and who does the job”, estimates the deputy Les Républicains Alexandre Vincendet. The tenant of Place Beauvau managed to seduce some of the LRs at the start of this five-year term through frequent meetings, but things have gone wrong since. “We can appreciate the image, the character, but it also needs results”claims Roger Karoutchi, who points in particular to an increase in delinquency in 2022. “He thought he was getting his political health back with the immigration text, but we are told that he is going to be chopped up, then postponed. And we don’t know if he will come back.”
Over the portraits and interviews, Gérald Darmanin no longer hides his ambitions. “Matignon, he thinks about it, he wants to. We feel that he imagines a destiny”estimates a framework of the majority who observes it out of the corner of the eye. “I remember that he did everything to be appointed Minister of the Interior. He knocked on all doors to get Castaner’s skin.”
When the ambitious minister wants something, he knows how to afford it. “Already in 2014, when he campaigned for Tourcoing, he knocked on all doors to snatch a city hall very anchored on the left”also recalls a close friend of the minister, who smiles at his friend’s ambition: “At the town hall of Tourcoing, he had portraits of Charles de Gaulle all over his office.”
A profile too divisive for Matignon?
In the event of the departure of Elisabeth Borne, who is still struggling to widen the majority, many imagine the former deputy from the North packing for Matignon. “Many people in the majority say to themselves that it would be good to have a more political government, and he is undoubtedly the one who would best embody this change”slips a majority adviser. “It is very weak at the moment on the side of Matignon, and benefits him from his position of strength”observes a Renaissance setting.
“Without weakening Borne, the way he ostensibly supports her, it’s almost amusing. Everyone sees the hypocrisy.”
A Renaissance settingat franceinfo
The Darmanin hypothesis is not only convinced, especially since the minister still suffers in part of the opinion from accusations of rape against him, despite the dismissal confirmed on appeal in January. Several deputies are calling for a more soothing candidate, given the situation in the country. “I’m not sure this is the profile we need right now. We need to embody more social justice and tax justice”pleads a MoDem MP.
For his part, the former Minister of Public Accounts has refined his line and his strategy in recent months. Heir to the social Gaullism of Philippe Séguin, he defends a strong line on the sovereign, but also wishes to show concern for the working classes. He thus recently pushed for a better sharing of value.
Cautious, Gérald Darmanin continues at the same time to proclaim his support for the head of government. “After some tensions during the summer, relations are very good. He is in total support and considers that his moral contract is to remain at the Ministry of the Interior until the Paris Olympics”, assures an adviser. And after ? “He is very friendly with Edouard Philippe and considers that the latter is best placed to win the majority in 2027”, adds the same adviser. Lucid, the Minister of the Interior collects only 30% of good opinions in the last Ifop poll for Paris Match and Sud Radio, against 55% for the former Prime Minister.