Edouard Philippe and the national representation. - YOAN VALAT-POOL / SIPA

  • Since the start of the coronavirus crisis, the government has faced criticism about its communication and its management of the epidemic.
  • After mistakes, the Prime Minister has reframed his troops. Edouard Philippe and the Minister of Health will be on the front line to speak on the Covid-19.
  • The head of government, who will be the guest of a special program this Thursday evening on TF1, is preparing public opinion for a long health crisis and is focusing on transparency to convince the French.

"In a concern for dialogue and constant transparency since the beginning of the crisis, I will of course answer all the questions that parliamentarians ask me about the Covid-19 and our strategy to face it". Accompanied by his Minister of Health Olivier Véran, the head of government exchanged for more than three hours this Wednesday with the deputies during the first session of the fact-finding mission on the coronavirus to the National Assembly.

At the forefront of the crisis, the Prime Minister is also the guest of TF1 this Thursday evening for a special program. After errors in communication, the government wants to correct the situation in the face of French people worried about the management of the epidemic.

Parliamentary control is essential in a democracy. For the sake of constant dialogue and transparency since the start of the crisis, I will of course answer all the questions that parliamentarians ask me about # COVID19 and our strategy to deal with it. https://t.co/XCMo4PvtrH

- Edouard Philippe (@EPhilippePM) April 1, 2020

Edouard Philippe closes ranks after errors in communication

Despite its desire for national unity, the government is still struggling to achieve consensus around its action. It was not helped by the erratic or contradictory communication of certain ministers these last days on the wearing of the mask, the screening, or the call to go to work in the fields of the Minister of Agriculture, Didier Guillaume, in full period containment.

Government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye even had to do a mea culpa after sparking controversy over teachers. "It was a blunder," sighs in a ministerial cabinet, "but in this context, with a very large population, things are going very badly."

Mea culpa. My example was really not the right one. I am the first to measure how exceptional the daily commitment of teachers is. https://t.co/Erorr5otKW

- Sibeth Ndiaye (@SibethNdiaye) March 25, 2020

In the Council of Ministers, this Friday, Edouard Philippe reframed his troops, according to Le Figaro, and gave new instructions: to Olivier Véran only the expression on health matters, and a restricted word for the other ministers. “The more you multiply the communication channels, the more you are in the risk of contradiction. However, we have no right to make mistakes ”, underlines a deputy La République en Marche. "We must focus on Edouard Philippe and Olivier Véran, it's the system in place," confirms Erwan Balanant, MoDem MP for Morbihan.

The executive focuses on transparency

When asked for traditional questions to the government, the ministers will also be questioned each week by the fact-finding mission on the Covid-19. Next week, it will be the turn of the Minister of the Interior Christophe Castaner and the Keeper of the Seals Nicole Belloubet. The government hopes to convince public opinion by focusing on transparency.

“People are confined, follow the news, ask themselves lots of questions. You have to be very reactive. Because every day, new problems arise, we cannot wait for it to become encysted, ”we observe in the cabinet of Bruno Le Maire, at Economy. This continuous communication can sometimes come up against the time of research on the virus. “The government has no choice but to listen to the scientific word. But it is evolving at high speed, so it's difficult to have a head start, ”breathes Balanant. "Some have fun using this, which maintains distrust in public opinion."

On Wednesday evening, the opposition again criticized the government for its unpreparedness for the crisis, and a delay in the delivery of protective equipment. "We had to say from the start that we did not have enough masks and that we would distribute them sparingly, rather than saying that they were useless," recognizes the patron of senators LREM François Patriat. The head of state, too, admitted difficulties. “We probably don't do everything perfectly, because we don't know everything. But every day, we try to correct the mistakes we made the day before, ”Emmanuel Macron told the JDD on March 21.

The delicate management of the way out of the crisis

As a "warlord", the president opted for thematic trips in the territories, with caregivers, mask manufacturers or the homeless. A way of showing that the executive is mobilized to the highest summit of the state in this crisis that is destined to last. By extending the confinement "to a minimum" until April 15, Edouard Philippe also wanted to prepare opinion. "When he says that the fight is just beginning, it is not reassuring communication for the opinion, but it is transparent", says Bruno Bonnell, LREM deputy from the Rhône.

The government is very cautious on the issue of deconfinement. Before the parliamentary fact-finding mission, the Prime Minister simply announced that he could be progressive. “We have not yet communicated on this, because the tracks are still being studied on the scientific side. But emerging from the crisis will be the most perilous, ”adds Bruno Bonnell. François Patriat shrugs: "There will always be lessons learned to say that the crisis has been poorly anticipated and poorly managed".

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  • Covid 19
  • Government
  • Coronavirus
  • epidemic
  • Emmanuel Macron
  • Virus
  • Executive