INTERVIEW
Friday, the Élysée Palace created surprise by announcing that Edouard Philippe, then Prime Minister, had resigned from the government to Emmanuel Macron. This event has raised several questions since, notably about the understanding between the two strong men of power. Gilles Boyer, MEP, close friend and former adviser to Edouard Philippe, spoke on Europe 1 on Saturday of a decision taken on "common agreement", even if the request first came from the President of the Republic.
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According to Gilles Boyer, this decision does not illustrate deep disagreements between Édouard Philippe and Emmanuel Macron. "We have a habit of looking for who is responsible, who is guilty or who has decided. Obviously, the President of the Republic who decides to keep or change his Prime Minister I think we need to play down this kind of decision," explains he at the microphone of Patrick Cohen, adding that we "have been looking for disagreements between the Élysée and Matignon for three years".
The need for "a new path"
The MEP ensures that this change has imposed itself following the election Sunday of Edouard Philippe at the head of the city of Le Havre. "He has handed in the resignation of his government as is customary after the municipal elections," said Gilles Boyer, who added that a need for renewal had been emerging for some time at the top of the state. "The President of the Republic had announced a new path, a reinvention. It is also logical that this new path and this reinvention are embodied by new faces," says Gilles Boyer. Among one of these new faces are notably Jean Castex, who replaced Édouard Philippe on Friday as Prime Minister.
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If this announcement surprises, it is also because the hypothesis of keeping Edouard Philippe was revived a few days earlier. Thursday, Emmanuel Macron had indeed received several journalists from the regional press. He called the work of Edouard Philippe "remarkable", praising a "relationship of trust from a certain point of view unique on the scale of the Fifth Republic". A vision shared by Gilles Boyer. "I think that since the beginning of the quinquennium, there has never been an impression of having two different lines" between Emmanuel Macron and Édouard Philippe, he notes.
Édouard Philippe "very happy [...] to find the Havraises and Le Havres"
But this link did not prevent a change of Prime Minister. "I think Edouard Philippe had internalized for several days and weeks that it was a possibility," says Gilles Boyer. This close friend of Edouard Philippe also affirms that the current mayor of Le Havre received this request with philosophy. "I think that if the president had asked him, Édouard Philippe would have continued with pleasure, energy and determination. I also think he is very happy this morning to find Les Havraises and Havrais and to devote himself again to his city", indicates Gilles Boyer .