Paris (AFP)

“The result is here!”: After an interminable summit in Brussels, relief and satisfaction are in order for Emmanuel Macron who is finally having a success on the European scene, the stated priority of his five-year term.

"Historical": the adjective returned Tuesday on all the lips of French officials to qualify the agreement reached at dawn by the 27 leaders of the EU.

"Historic day for Europe", tweeted Emmanuel Macron, who then greeted, at 8 PM on TF1, "the most important moment in the life of our Europe since the creation of the euro" on January 1, 2002.

This enthusiasm was shared by members of the government and, with some reservations, by officials of the pro-European right and left. Former President François Hollande welcomed "major progress in solidarity between the 27" while the boss of deputies LR Damien Abad pointed to positive aspects but also "real questions".

But, for Marine Le Pen, "Macron has just signed the worst agreement for France in the history of the EU! To protect his ego, he is sacrificing our future and our independence". "Macron has ceded everything (...) to stingy countries. Help propaganda", for his part denounced Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

For Emmanuel Macron, the "success" of the summit is all the more appreciable as Europe has brought him more disappointments than satisfactions since the start of his five-year term. His ambition to "rebuild Europe", proclaimed during the speech at the Sorbonne in 2017, ran up against multiple obstacles: Brexit, political crisis in Germany, movement of "yellow vests", rise of populism ...

"There are moments of progress and retreat, but we have always believed in the European project", explains one of his advisers. Obtaining results is therefore "important in the political contract that the president has made with the French", who will "judge him on that too", he says.

In Brussels and then on TF1, Emmanuel Macron insisted on the concrete results of the summit, namely that, "thanks to European solidarity", "it is 40 billion euros that will be injected" into the French recovery to overcome the coronavirus crisis. "We are going to change the lives of our fellow citizens (...) This is the most important thing for me", he said.

- With Merkel -

In the coming weeks, the government must finalize this recovery plan for an announced amount of 100 billion euros, which Bruno Le Maire will present to the Council of Ministers at the start of the school year, on August 24.

One of the conditions enacted in Brussels is to devote 30% of this plan to ecological transition, which joins one of the other priorities displayed by the executive for the remaining “600 days” of the five-year term.

On the European scene, Emmanuel Macron will continue to rely on the Franco-German couple, presented by his entourage as "the essential factor" which allowed the agreement of the 27.

Germany and France "cannot do everything" but "if they do not come together, nothing is possible", he said at dawn on Tuesday during the press conference with Angela Merkel which concluded a summit where the two leaders have continued to appear side by side.

For this, the Head of State must hope that the "European alignment" between Paris and Berlin continues until the departure of the Chancellor, expected by the end of 2021, and is shared by his successor. France will take over the rotating EU presidency on January 1, 2022, a few months before the next presidential election.

In the meantime, the two capitals will have to show an acute sense of diplomacy with their partners, in particular the so-called "frugal" countries which have demonstrated their determination to influence the negotiations. This will be one of the tasks of the new Secretary of State for European Affairs, whose appointment is expected in the coming days with the finalization of the Castex government.

© 2020 AFP