It’s the return of “Jupiter”. Since his re-election, Emmanuel Macron has taken some distance, both literally and figuratively. He chose to embody the presidential function on the international field, in a very Gaullist posture. And his few rare speeches to address the French have not always been readable, as for example on June 22 during his televised address. It was the first time he had spoken since the legislative elections and he used this communication to… challenge the opposition.
>> Government: follow political news live
franceinfo: how to interpret this speech where Emmanuel Macron says almost nothing and makes no announcement?
Gaspard Gantzer: It is the speech of a President of the Republic who finds himself faced with a situation he had not foreseen. He therefore tries to become the “master of the clocks”, the master of time, the one who decides the media tempo. Like the tennis player, he returns a long ball to the back of the court, to let the opposition, the various political groups of the National Assembly, react to his speech by seeking above all to save time. It’s marathon communication to save time.
In the wake of this speech, the Head of State left on a European tour but he punctuated his trips with communications targeted at the national level. Why did Emmanuel Macron continue to speak to the French from abroad?
There is an adage that was put in place by Jacques Chirac when he was President of the Republic, which was that when he was abroad or in Europe, we did not comment on national politics. But there, Emmanuel Macron has no choice since the questions of the journalists who are around him during his international travels relate precisely to national questions and therefore he is somewhat obliged to improvise rather technical answers, not necessarily very which do not replace speeches or interviews that he would give to the press in France.
We are in a moment of vagueness because we are waiting for the appointment of the “Borne 2” government. We note that the Head of State has not yet granted any interview, apart from TF1 in Ukraine and an immersion camera for France 2 on the occasion of a subject on the war. How can we describe his relationship with journalists?
It has long been said that Emmanuel Macron does not like journalists. But that hasn’t always been true. Before becoming President of the Republic and even before becoming Minister of the Economy, he maintained journalistic networks which favored his rise. But having become Minister of the Economy and especially President, he put them at a distance. Both because he does not necessarily have confidence in their judgment and in their deciphering capacities, wrongly, but on the other hand because it is also a posture to put himself above the fray, at the above the political world but also the media.