the head of state came to restore his image in the second largest city in France

Emmanuel Macron made a surprise visit on Tuesday to Marseille, city of Castellane, for the launch of the first operation “Place Net XXL” against drug trafficking. The opportunity to show a much more positive image after a chaotic trip to the agricultural show.

In terms of images, Emmanuel Macron’s surprise visit, Tuesday March 19, to Marseille is a success. It must be said that the latest ones that our retinas have printed are those of the agricultural show. And they weren’t very flattering. We remember a president who was very heckled during clashes between the police and angry farmers. It was therefore time for Emmanuel Macron to rectify the situation, hence this trip to Marseille on Tuesday, which does not only represent his city of heart. It is also, in a way, the laboratory city for several aspects of its security and employment policy.

Emmanuel Macron therefore gave it his all. He took many selfies, holding the phones himself so as not to miss the shots. Even suggesting to an unemployed Marseillaise despite having a security guard diploma to send him a text message to keep him informed of his research. The goal was clear: to give the image of a president in contact, a president of everyday life. And not just a president of world affairs.

Mark your territory

This trip comes after an intense international streak by the president. A very long sequence on Russia in particular, where the head of state suggested that he was excluding nothing, including the sending of ground troops. The high point of this sequence being the major interview with last Thursday on TF1 and France 2. The risk for the President of the Republic was to give the impression of investing only in his reserved domain as head of the armies and diplomacy, by delegating to Gabriel Attal the real concerns of the French, even Yes, I swear, assures Matignon, everything is fluid and perfectly coordinated between the two men. The Prime Minister also praises a “co-decision” permanent between him and the president, even if it means contravening article 20 of our Constitution, which requires that the government conduct the policy of the nation. In fact, the practice has long surpassed the text. In these conditions, nothing better than returning to the field, and even difficult terrain like the northern districts of Marseille, to mark your territory.

This trip marks the return of the hyperpresident if indeed we ever really get out of it. Everything comes from the president and everything goes back to him, always with the danger that in the event of failure, everything will be attributed to him and will undermine his person, his government and his entire policy. A strategy which is not without risks just three months before a European election which seems to be off to a bad start for the majority. On drug trafficking, for example, we know how often a precarious fight it is. This hydra knows how to regenerate as quickly as it was amputated. Ambition “clean place” affirmed Tuesday by Emmanuel Macron, it is the reissue of Nicolas Sarkozy’s 2005 kärcher to clean up the suburbs. A few months later, these same cities burst into flames.

Tuesday’s images are undoubtedly successful for the head of state. It’s up to him to prevent them from turning into lost illusions.