Guidel (France) (AFP)

"It's beautiful, but it's far": arriving at Guidel, in Morbihan, at the University of MoDem, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe paraphrased Jacques Chirac, whose memory was repeatedly summoned when of this great centrist raid, at the time of act II of the five-year Macron.

"We all have something from Jacques Chirac," continued Édouard Philippe - a word this time borrowed from Johnny Hallyday - although the former president, who died on Thursday, was "neither a saint nor a perfect man". esteemed his distant successor to Matignon.

A few minutes earlier, at the conclusion of the Breton meeting started on Friday and which brought together nearly 900 participants - a record - MoDem's boss, François Bayrou, had also evoked the memory of the one who had "a precious idea , the idea of ​​a French unity ".

"There was always in Jacques Chirac concern for this unity," continued the one who was his minister - but also his opponent in the presidential election of 2002 - and insists that still today, "France needs communion "and" we turn our backs on artificial divisions ".

In Guidel, the message bore the appearance of the warning, particularly with regard to La République en marche, in the light of the Act of the Five-Year Act, on the one hand, and the negotiations on the other hand. investitures for the March 2020 municipal elections.

François Bayrou, who never misses an opportunity to recall that he had "felt a crisis came" last year on the same date, in this case that of "yellow vests", warns: "The reforms, if we want them to succeed, they are only worthwhile if the people feel that they are led for them and with them ", calling for" the humble and human dimension "- according to him the specificity, if not the appanage, from the MoDem.

But, once critical of the Prime Minister, the MoDem boss is now a laureate: "We appreciate your style and the recoil you can take, a little Norman circumspection, a little British humor, a little determination of amateur boxer , and an undeniable sense of loyalty, "he drew the portrait.

Édouard Philippe returned the favor: first, while the mayor of Pau set yellow lines on the pension reform - respect for acquired rights, guarantee of the point, sparing of surplus special regimes -, the tenant of Matignon has swore they were "fine".

- Lack of coherence -

Then, about the municipal elections, the Prime Minister - who is not a member of any political party - warned "that partisan logic has only a minimal influence in the logic that must prevail at the municipal level" , in line with François Bayrou's remonstrances with La République en marche.

The first of the walkers, Stanislas Guerini, the other great guest of the Breton weekend, wanted to temporize: "I also know how we are a young movement and we need deeper roots," he said. reassured his partners.

But, as friction between the two formations increases in terms of investitures, the boss of La République en marche was as magnanimous as it was intransigent, calling for "coherence with our ideas that we bring to the national level".

More explicit: "We will have to rely on local elected officials who clearly want the success of the presidential majority," he thundered, targeting municipalities where the MoDem intends to support or leave with outsiders sometimes hostile to Emmanuel Macron.

"These disagreements may exist, but we have a responsibility to overcome them," Guerini said. And he returned to the post-municipal: "Let's not forget that what we must redraw together is also the map of France and regions in the yard of the presidential election of 2022".

© 2019 AFP