Between news items and forest fires, the summer period is traditionally that of the tenant of Beauvau. The news in low water, the slightest drama is called to turn in a loop on the continuous information channels. So many reasons for a Minister of the Interior to rush to the field to show that the State is responding.
And Gérald Darmanin multiplies, day after day, in all directions: the aggression of the three police officers from Lyon, the soap opera of the expulsion of Imam Iquioussen, the urban rodeos, the police force in Marseille, daily tweets in support to firefighters in the fight against fires… and politics too, with the immigration text at the start of the school year. Only the poor beluga lost in a lock on the Seine escapes its hyperactivity.
The Minister of the Interior sends messages. It is first addressed to public opinion on the verge of a nervous breakdown, faced with rampant insecurity that no government seems to be able to contain. Summer is conducive to all skids. Urban rodeos are one of the most disturbing examples. Two young children knocked down Friday evening in Pontoise. Gérald Darmanin chooses his words, talks about “criminal phenomenon” and announces 10,000 controls in the month.
Because we must try to reassure, show that the State can still respond, which a growing number of citizens doubt. The Minister of the Interior then addresses the right, from the Republicans to Marine Le Pen’s National Rally. An opposition that feeds Emmanuel Macron a recurring lawsuit for incompetence in security matters.
The tenant of Beauvau is a bit of the “bad cop” of the government. The one who flexes his muscles and never stops while the other ministers are on vacation. Nicolas Sarkozy had already applied the method in his time, supported by the powerful Pasqua networks on his arrival in Beauvau. His energetic conquest opened the doors of the Élysée to him. His distant successor wants to follow in his footsteps by seeking to impose his own, safer, more radical line on the government.
The bet is difficult: he must find his own support. He is being watched closely: Elisabeth Borne imposed a two-month debate on him before his immigration bill in the fall. Gérald Darmanin is eyeing 2027. The long march has only just begun.