It’s a tradition started by Raymond Barre in 1978 and has persisted ever since. Elisabeth Borne will plant a tree in Matignon’s garden, six months after taking office as Prime Minister on May 16. She thus follows in the footsteps of her predecessors, who all respected the custom except Jacques Chirac when he was head of government between 1986 and 1988, under the presidency of François Mitterrand.
To highlight, Elisabeth Borne says that she wants to do things “in another way”, in an interview for paris party.
“Normally we go to a nursery, there I made the decision to take a young shoot that reached the bottom of the garden with the wind,” he justifies.
The oak, the most precious tree for prime ministers
And to continue in the columns of the magazine with a political message: “It is an oak, a species from the south that will be able to adapt to global warming. In addition, it is an evergreen tree, a sign of sustainability. Persistent and resilient, that’s what suits me.”
The oak, a symbol of longevity, is the most successful tree since the beginning of this tradition. Pierre Mauroy, Laurent Fabius, Dominique de Villepin and Manuel Valls have chosen him.
Jean Castex, Élisabeth Borne’s predecessor in Matignon, had planted an ash tree in January 2021. Or a “wood that withstands fire well, that is very resistant, solid, that does little damage”, stressed the prime minister while the world turned was facing the Covid-19 epidemic. As for Édouard Philippe, he had distinguished himself by being the first to plant a fruit tree, a Norman apple tree in reference to its origins.
Source: BFM TV
