Ibiza... How many sparks, cocktails, loud music, beat, rhythm, youth, crazy parties, sea, sun in this word. And it certainly does not fit in with French Education Minister Jean-Michel Blanquer, a 57-year-old partially bald official who, in the midst of covid, went to rest on the island for the New Year holidays. He was advised not to do this - they say that such recommendations were given even at the level of Prime Minister Jean Castex. And now the entire Macron world and the presidential entourage are trying to excuse the minister from a high-profile scandal, which has already been dubbed "Ibizagate".
The fact is that when the official decided to light the Spanish islands, school holidays were ending in France, parents were preparing their children to return to their desks on January 3, teachers stocked up on patience and nerves, because no one understood whether schools would open or learning would become distance learning again. . Waiting for a new sanitary protocol. How to behave if covid is found in classes. What masks to wear and to whom what to do, what not to do, where to run. Around the figures, all kinds of records were beaten, the Omicron was pacing the country. The fact that at that moment the minister was on a four-day vacation was known only to his inner circle.
The French were infuriated by something else: they learned the details of the long-awaited protocol only on Sunday, and that from his interview with the newspaper Le Parisien. The editor-in-chief of the publication also said that he had no idea where Blanker was answering questions from: it was over the phone, the photo was taken two months ago. Irritated people by the inability to get clear instructions. Many could not open his interview - the content is paid, only by subscription. And there were no more official papers. Only links to this commentary and snippets of decisions, the quintessence, the most basic.
Schools were a mess in the morning. Many refused to comply with the new requirements, because no one really saw them to the end. And if I saw it, I understood that all this is very difficult to fulfill and have time to adjust. Among other things, there was, for example, this: if at least one student was diagnosed with covid, then all children must be tested for the virus three times within four days. On the first day, on the second and on the fourth. The question is: what if the child came to school on the third day and it was then that he developed covid? And if he made himself known only on the fifth? He could potentially re-infect everyone else, right? But the installation was this: do everything so as not to stop studying.
Can you imagine poke a stick in the nose three times in a row? Not every pharmacist will agree. The saliva test is not as accurate. In addition, this is an additional burden on pharmacies or laboratories. It used to be easier: when a student was found to have covid, the entire class was closed and all children were automatically sent to isolation for a week. No questions and no unnecessary gestures.
In general, the protocol from the 3rd day “did not enter”.
On January 7 it was softened, on the 10th it was again altered by the hand of the Prime Minister.
Three times a week.
And the French exploded.
On the 13th, teachers and school workers went on a nationwide strike to protest against such management.
About 80 thousand people took to the streets.
The opposition did not miss its chance and immediately began to demand the resignation of the Minister of Education, and at the same time to find fault with the entire government and “makronizm” in general.
Like, from the very beginning, all decisions were made belatedly, at the wrong time and wrong.
Before the elections, all means and words are good.
So, when the scandal began to subside a little, this Monday, the left-wing edition of Mediapart splashed a can of gasoline on the still hot firebrands.
He said that the minister, it turns out, was vacationing in Ibiza, having a great time, and therefore announced the measures so clumsily and late.
At this point, the French, tired of the endless epidemic, were simply torn apart.
The minister had to explain himself in the lower house of parliament and apologize.
He said that he greatly regretted that he had chosen such a direction, but he never had fun there, but rested calmly and was constantly in touch.
The whole macron environment stood up for the minister.
Press secretary Gabriel Attal pointed to the rules: an official must be a two-hour flight from Paris.
And he stressed that based on this, there are no violations.
At this time, people close to Blanker leaked information that the minister got married a week ago, so the trip to Ibiza was most likely some kind of truncated honeymoon, although it was held before the wedding.
For Blanker, this is the third marriage.
The first lasted 21 years and gave him three children.
Then he started an affair with his student from the Institute of Political Studies in Lille.
He divorced her two years later.
And immediately after, in 2020, a relationship began with 42-year-old journalist Anna Kabana.
This is her second marriage.
From the first she also has a child.
Madame ended up in Paris in 2002, she came there from Montpellier.
She started as a political reporter for Marianne, then for France Inter, BFMTV, and then I24news, while also writing books about politicians and their wives.
For example, a book about Cecilia Sarkozy was a success.
In general, the minister enthralled by her was busy with his personal life, love affairs, which the French, in principle, understand and may well forgive ... in ordinary times.
But not now.
At the weekend, the yellow vests and anti-vaxers will march again. At the same time, surprisingly, Macron's rating, despite the scandal, is consistently higher than all his closest competitors. Even more. The same main competitor from the Republicans, Valerie Pekress, generally sank very strongly in January and ended up behind Zemmour and Le Pen in the first round. Of course, now there will be those who will say that all surveys are paid for and ordered by someone. Maybe. But it is also not worth writing them off completely.
Whatever one may say, based on official figures, Macron's position now looks more stable and confident, even despite all these storms in the French government, in the healthcare system, and even despite the fact that a law was dragged through parliament that the sanitary passport is now became exclusively vaccinated. The rest - not vaccinated with three doses - were pointed to the sidelines of social life. It's just closed to them.
Macron has not yet announced his intention to run again, although the collection of signatures, they say, is in full swing, albeit unofficially.
He is now concentrating on the reformation of all of Europe as president of the presiding country, which he reported on in Strasbourg.
True, he was booed by the French in the building of the European Parliament, photographed while shouting: “Macron is to blame!”
But this is the thing.
If they whistle, it means they love, the president probably decided for himself.
Be that as it may, analysts still predict him victory in the upcoming elections.
But no one is sure.
It would not be France if everything there always proceeded according to a pre-foreseen scenario.
The point of view of the author may not coincide with the position of the editors.