Two former Prime Ministers of Emmanuel Macron are candidates to head the presidential party. Behind the scenes, the two contenders seek to avoid a confrontation, but this face-to-face reveals the fractures of a formation in full doubt, after several electoral defeats.
The match is (almost) on. Not yet formalized, the candidacy of Gabriel Attal at the head of the Renaissance party is no longer in doubt. On his way, the former Prime Minister will meet his predecessor at Matignon, Elisabeth Borne, who declared herself at the end of August. But only one of the two former heads of government will take the leadership of the party founded by Emmanuel Macron. An executive office, which is held on the evening of Thursday, October 10, must decide the thorny question of the modalities of the vote during a congress, where the new leader of the party will be chosen.
Proof that the confrontation is tense, two and a half years before the next presidential election, the very date of this congress is the subject of maneuvers between “bornists” and “attalists”. The former would prefer to postpone the deadline, in the hope of gaining time after the “big political sequence this fall”with the presentation to the National Assembly of a historically difficult budget. “If it’s done, lots of presidents [d’assemblées départementales du parti] will resign”warns one of them, who is among Gabriel Attal’s supporters. On the contrary, the latter want the vote to take place this fall, to give Renaissance a new direction as quickly as possible, after the departure of the party boss, Stéphane Séjourné, who has become European Commissioner. “The desire of the anti-Attal to postpone the congress is not based on any argument, apart from blocking his candidacy”castigates Senator Xavier Iacovelli.
Without waiting for the decision of the executive office, Elisabeth Borne took up her pilgrim’s staff to try to convince the various regional executives of the party, with more than twenty trips under the clock. “We had to go to the reconquest of lost territories, where we no longer have parliamentarians”says one of his supporters. Like his rival, the leader of the Renaissance deputies has increased his visits to meet activists, during an “Attal Tour”, as his entourage boasts. However, he took care to wait until the last moment to truly launch the offensive: an interview with Figarolast Friday, in which the head of the Macronist list for the European elections, Valérie Hayer, ensures that he “talent” to lead Renaissance, before a support forum in Opinion of 62 presidents of departmental assemblies, Sunday.
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Under the radar, the “attalists” are trying to impose their champion as the undisputed favorite, without waiting for the official declaration of candidacy. “This fight does not really exist. It will very quickly end the duel: profile, popularity, support from deputies, departments…”sweeps away a deputy from the Ensemble pour la République (EPR, ex-Renaissance) group, led by Gabriel Attal. “Why is Elisabeth Borne engaging in a losing battle?”asks a party executive, while Loire-Atlantique elected official Mounir Belhamiti believes that there is no “no subject”.
“There is no match in itself, Gabriel Attal has the very broad support of the activist base.”
Mounir Belhamiti, president of the Loire-Atlantique departmental assemblyat franceinfo
Doubt has even begun to spread among the “bornist” ranks in recent weeks. “Whatever the method of designation, activists or executives, it is he who will win”whispers a minister in the Barnier government. Unsurprisingly, the entourage of the elected official from Calvados denies an unbalanced confrontation and highlights its chances of creating a surprise. Elisabeth Borne’s troops defend the need to share responsibilities. Controlling both the parliamentary group and the party is not “not a good idea”according to a “bornist” deputy: “In the Assembly, you need to find compromises. When you are party leader, on the contrary, you must defend a clear and firm line.” Furthermore, accumulation is not necessary “so that the two structures talk to each other”judges an executive, who has not yet chosen his camp.
Another argument put forward: the desire displayed by the former boss of the RATP to change almost everything at Renaissance. “The party today is as if it no longer existedpoints out Ludovic Mendes, member of the left wing of the movement. Elisabeth Borne really wants to fundamentally overhaul the party.” Gabriel Attal’s supporters are not left out. By extolling the merits of their suitor, they implicitly paint a scathing portrait of the one who preceded him at Matignon. “We need someone who does not belong to any movement, but is able to represent them all and allow them to express themselves”thus defend the signatories of the forum in Opinion.
“Gabriel Attal managed to broadly unite and convey convictions without ever breaking through or fracturing our unity.”
Around sixty departmental managers from RenaissanceIn “Opinion”
In the eyes of her detractors, Elisabeth Borne would only be in the running to prevent Gabriel Attal from achieving the double “group and party”. “It’s difficult to say that we are in the rally when we are a candidate to block someone’s path”squeaks a support from the thirty-something. “She is being pushed by Gabriel Attal’s competitors for 2027. That does not make for a homogeneous and coherent candidacy”adds an EPR deputy, in reference to the diverse sensibilities embodied by Aurore Bergé, Clément Beaune and Sylvain Maillard. “The real match is between Attal and Darmanin. But Borne does not unite, she is not in the match”extends a close friend of Emmanuel Macron.
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Up his sleeve, Gabriel Attal would have a significant asset: his central role for the former majority during the last elections. “He’s the one who got our asses out of the brambles during the legislative elections”summarizes a minister, evoking the numerous trips made at full speed by the then Prime Minister, to save the furniture of the presidential camp after the surprise dissolution of the Assembly. “For the deputies, he appears as the savior, the friend, the man of unity. Elisabeth Borne cannot counter all that”says someone close to Emmanuel Macron.
There are many differences between Elisabeth Borne and Gabriel Attal. Whether it is their strategy for winning over the party, their image or their support. But deep down, what really separates them? Coming from the left, former members of socialist ministers’ cabinets, Matignon’s two “exes” have embodied macronism and its developments since their entry into government, in 2017 for the first and the following year for the second. “They definitely come from the same family.”confirms support from Elisabeth Borne.
“There is a form of closeness between the two, even if their exercises as Prime Ministers were differentshade Ludovic Mendes. They do not share the same vision of France. There were differences on the place of young people or the minority excuse“which the presidential bloc wanted to return to during the legislative campaign, led by Gabriel Attal. “The line [du député des Hauts-de-Seine] is likely to bring together different families”supports former minister Franck Riester, signatory of the column published on Sunday.
“Gabriel is truly at the center of our political family.”
Franck Riester, EPR deputyat franceinfo
Their vision for 2027 also differs. Presidential ambitions are regularly attributed to Gabriel Attal, the youngest Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic. If he seizes the head of the party, in addition to the parliamentary group, he will have all the cards in hand, against the other members of the central bloc, to run for the Elysée. “He becomes the number one heir of Macronism. With the extra funds, he could buy his candidacy for the presidential election”anticipates a ministerial advisor, who thinks of the millions of euros of public funding paid to Renaissance each year. Elisabeth Borne appears less interested in this deadline. “At this stage, she is not asking herself the question of 2027”sweeps his surroundings.
Officially, the support of the two candidates agrees on the need not to sink into a “internal war”according to the expression of several macronists. Now overtaken by the National Rally group and its 125 elected representatives in the National Assembly, Renaissance is no longer as hegemonic, with its 95 deputies, as in the past with its allies MoDem and Horizons. The party is also missing “definition of a political line”insists Franck Riester: “We can imagine whatever we want for 2027, if we cannot be effective during that period, we have no future.”
In order to avoid a “harsh campaign” and its consequences on the party, as feared by an executive, could a withdrawal occur? “There are ongoing discussions that continue every day and it’s positive”assures Senator Xavier Iacovelli. “The ideal would be for Gabriel Attal to take the helm and for her to become deputy secretary general.” “I think they will reach an agreement before the end”also hopes for a Renaissance tenor, who wishes above all to quickly have “a compass and knowing where we are going”.