One name comes up regularly as a potential successor to Elisabeth Borne: the former President of the Assembly, Richard Ferrand. A very close to Emmanuel Macron that some would see well at Matignon.
For years he was part of the inner circle. Richard Ferrand was, throughout the first five-year term, a pillar of macronism. From boss of En Marche to minister to the perch of the Assembly. Since his defeat in the legislative elections a year ago in Brittany, he has disappeared from the front of the stage but remains present behind the scenes. If this former journalist refuses to see the press, he has not left the corridors of power.
He is seen regularly at the Elysée, participates in certain dinners of the majority around the president, where his opinion is listened to. He exchanges with ministers and in particular the first of them, Elisabeth Borne. He also participates in the executive office of Renaissance.
Richard Ferrand, “tutelary figure”
“Ferrand never really left, he remains a tutelary figure”deciphers an important deputy. “He is one of the few to tell his four truths to the president”, says another member of the majority. For now, it’s all very informal. Since his failure in the legislative elections, Richard Ferrand has been at the head of a small consulting firm but he no longer has a mandate. He is not paid for his political role. “This is not because he no longer has functions that he is no longer Richard Ferrand”decrypts Aurore Bergé, the patroness of the Renaissance group in the Assembly.
Some attribute a great deal of influence to him. When, in the negotiations on pensions with the LRs, he pleaded in a small committee to pose the threat of a dissolution of the Assembly. When he dissuaded Emmanuel Macron from appointing Catherine Vautrin to Matignon, then apologizing by SMS to the person concerned, saying that he had nothing to do with it. Whatever he says, Richard Ferrand remains an important cog in the Macron machine.
“Ferrand at Matignon, the most serious hypothesis”
Richard Ferrand at Matignon? “This is the most serious hypothesis”, pleads a minister. The more Richard Ferrand remains in the shadows, the more he appears as a recourse for some. He has long been at the heart of an investigation for illegal taking of interest in the Mutuelles de Bretagne affair. The prosecution has ended, he is no longer targeted by justice and could therefore imagine going back to the political ring.
But a question remains: Ferrand, a faithful of the president at Matignon, yes but for what political project? Would he have the capacity to enlarge the majority? To talk to the French again? To appease after retreats? More than a man of confidence, isn’t that what Emmanuel Macron needs today at Matignon?