As the start of the school year approaches, Emmanuel Macron wants to show his determination to act. From the ban on the abaya at Gabriel Attal’s school to the “systematic firmness” to expel “criminals who commit urban violence” announced by Gérald Darmanin, the executive wants to show that it is working to fight “the weakening of the Republic “.
If this offensive is not surprising – the Head of State used the word “firmness” no less than 15 times in his interview in River Spot to mark his political comeback – takes place in a very particular context.
The French need security
Purchasing power may still be the priority for the French by far at the height of inflation: with 56% of respondents in an Elabe poll for BFMTV, security concerns are increasing. 35% now cite it as a priority issue compared to 20% last April.
The urban riots that ignited part of France after the death of the young Nahel murdered by a shot by the police in Nanterre last June went through this.
“At the start of his second five-year term, the president asserted his authority to counter the opposition after the failed legislative elections,” observes BFMTV political columnist Mathieu Croissandeau.
Judicial figures to show order
“Now it is the republican authority that has been attacked, hence the very firm response of the police and the police during the riots,” the journalist analyzes again.
Two months after the urban violence, the results should live up to Emmanuel Macron’s ambitions: 2,107 people were arrested and 94% of those tried were convicted, according to the Ministry of Justice.
90% of the individuals brought before the judge were sentenced to prison with an average sentence of 8.9 months in prison. Very far from the figures of the riots of 2005: then 400 prison sentences were handed down.
Macron “forced to adapt to the demand for firmness” of the LR
The immigration bill, which should end up reaching the National Assembly in the winter after the first months of gestation in pain, could allow the president to mingle “firmness” and “humanity”as he had already explained in an interview with Parisian the last December.
On the menu: a residence permit for undocumented workers in scarce occupations and easier deportations. However, the Republicans oppose a part of the project, which could force the Government to modify it profoundly.
“He will be forced to adapt to the demands for greater firmness from the right and the extreme right,” summarizes Mathieu Croissandeau.
remember who decides
Finally, the president’s position of authority also has an advantage: remembering that he is not here to make figures in the coming years. Barely a year after his re-election, appetites are wheting for 2027.
Something that bothers Emmanuel Macron, who does not want to be sentenced to not being able to act, already very limited by his relative majority in the National Assembly.
Elisabeth Borne, whose arrival was not scheduled, was invited to Tourcoing on Sunday for the political comeback of Gérald Darmanin, who will look good at the Élysée in four years. The Prime Minister multiplied before her Minister of the Interior and her supporters the shovels and the crops. The president himself closely followed this political return from his vacation home in Le Touquet, remembering who is still in charge.
Source: BFM TV
