ANALYSIS
He hailed in Jacques Chirac a "statesman whom we loved as much as he loved us". In a televised speech during which he confirmed the organization of a national day of mourning, Monday, Emmanuel Macron paid tribute to the former President of the Republic, who died Thursday at the age of 86 years. A very political speech, according to the editorialists of Europe 1. "In drawing the portrait of Jacques Chirac, it draws, in hollow, that of the traits which escape to him", estimates in particular David Doukhan, head of the political service of Europe 1.
PORTRAIT - Chirac, the nine lives of a political beast
While Emmanuel Macron praises a Jacques Chirac who "gathered us", David Doukhan notes that since his election in 2017, "the unity of the country has been undermined", including the crisis of "yellow vests". However, he recalls, Jacques Chirac, "very marked by the riots of May 1968", but also by the strikes of 1995, "spent his two terms with the idea pegged to the body not to fracture the French" . Emmanuel Macron, he, "strong reform", still notes David Doukhan, and perhaps, by paying tribute to a unifying president, "he wants to be inspired by it".
"Emmanuel Macron tried to recover some of the personality" Jacques Chirac
This opinion is shared by the editorialist of Europe 1 Michaël Darmon. According to him, Emmanuel Macron tried to "get a little of the personality" of Jacques Chirac, and "to recover a little love that the French him". One way for the current tenant of the Elysee to say: "I also want to weave my link with the French," said Michaël Darmon. Speaking of a Jacques Chirac "we loved as much as he loved us", Emmanuel Macron "immediately puts the notion of powerful emotional link, since it is certainly what it lacks".
In his speech, Emmanuel Macron has multiplied allusions to the love of Jacques Chirac for the French, including "the most humble". "We remember the sentence of Emmanuel Macron on 'those who are nothing' and who was very shocked," notes David Doukhan. Later, the head of state also praised the former president's talent for "reconciling closeness and greatness". Yet, notes the head of the political service of Europe 1, after his election, Emmanuel Macron "immediately donned the costume of greatness, but took time to find the proximity".