Some words that are not randomly chosen. In a long interview with the current values, Bruno Retailleau judged this July 22 that “Macronism will end with Emmanuel Macron”, accusing the head of state “of promoting impotence”, without even having managed to find “a political movement” or “an ideology.”
What altered the presidential camp, even for some, such as deputy Pieyre-Alexandre Anglade to ask him to “return his position” of the Interior Minister. But Beauvau’s tenant strategy obviously should not at all random, 18 months from the next presidential elections.
“Do not sink with the” Macron Line
He stopped with his victory at the head of the Republicans last May, Bruno Retailleu has already taken the opposite of the government from the Elysée on several occasions, either in the strategy of continuing in Algeria or in “the end of the subsidies” to the wind turbines.
“His description of Emmanuel Macron is the exact opposite of what he is, he. Bruno Retailleau has ideas and a vision for France. And that will be clear when he is a candidate,” illustrates Senator Lr Etienne Blanc with BFMTV.
“We are not going to sink with the coating and we must avoid at all costs that the French put an equal signal between the Bayrou-Macron couple and we,” says one of his colleagues.
The method also has the advantage of allowing him to distance himself from Prime Minister François Bayrou, attacked from all parties from the presentation of his budget project on July 16. It should be said that retirees, the main electoral segment of the LR, are largely used to save money, between pension pensions and the end of their tax reduction.
Avoid becoming presidential among others
But the balance that is found is subtle and requires mixing distances necessary not to sink with the head of government, threatened with censorship next autumn, and an unprecedented exhibition offered by the Ministry of Interior. “There, we are one foot in him, one foot,” summarizes a local chosen official, near Laurent Wauquiez.
It should be said that leaving Beauvau’s place in the long term, which allowed him to let the French know, after a political trip of almost 30 years, is not obvious.
“Who is Bruno Retilleau once he is no longer a minister?” He wonders even a deputy of the Renaissance, from the right. “Well, it is presidential among another ten, who is certainly a party leader. But that is not what makes a presidential election come. His interest is to stay while differentiating.”
The observation is shared by many elected LR officials who urge him to remain in the government as long as possible. “It is consistent that he is in the position while the elbows are Frank and that he can advance in our subjects,” he insists on Deputy Marie-Christine Dalloz.
A reflective excursion
But after almost a year inside, the question of the minister’s evaluation will eventually arise and, ultimately, could be used against him. At the moment, it is quite nuanced. Bruno Retailleau can put in his credit an ambitious text to fight drug trafficking, certainly in the pipes even before his place of arrival Beauvau.
The former LR senator can also boast two circulars that harden the tone on the issue of visas and naturalizations, as well as the lengthening of the duration in the detention center.
But a new immigration law that requested his wishes before being appointed seems very unlikely. As for the number of police officers, it should decrease as part of the non -replacement of one in three officials announced by François Bayrou.
“The question that arises is when it is the most useful for us to be inside or be outside,” he acknowledges a relative of Bruno Retailleau with “the idea that his departure must be decisive serenely, with a cold head.”
It is not damaged in case of censorship
Understand: It should be avoided at all costs that your possible resignation will drown in those of the prime minister and the entire government in case of censorship in autumn. In which case, his departure would be only one of the many others, all in the context of great uncertainty about the 2026 budget and the new threat of dissolution.
“We have an intertwined budget, everyone knows. So Bruno Retilleau will try to put his mark and say that he can get things, even in a perimeter that is not his,” says Senator Lr Etienne Blanc.
And the opposite? “If you feel that François Bayrou will fall, he will say that he does not support this budget. He can say that he has done everything he can and will not leave this sequence,” he wants to believe in a ministerial collaborator.
As for the hypothesis of a forced departure, requested by François Bayrou or even by Emmanuel Macron, nobody believes it. “He will never be fired, sure,” says Deputy Lr Julien Dive, despite an icy exchange with the president in the Council of Ministers on Wednesday.
“Obviously, Bruno Retailleau will remain,” said government spokeswoman Sophie Primas, one of her relatives.
Some, among those around him, even have a model in mind: true Emmanuel Macron. Then the Minister of the Economy, thirty years, however, officially outside the bank with François Hollande, the government had left until September 2016, just 9 months before the presidential elections. Which leaves the possibility of keeping Brunoinleau open until September 2026 if François Bayrou continues to sustain.
Source: BFM TV
