Le Havre (AFP)

Jean Castex found his predecessor at Matignon Edouard Philippe on Friday in Le Havre, whose "courage" and "coolness" he praised when he was at the helm of the government, on the occasion of an interministerial committee of sea ​​leading to several investments.

"Welcome to the most beautiful place in the world!"

The postcard was expected for this first official reunion between the two heads of government of Emmanuel Macron.

Taking advantage of the view offered from the deck of the immense container ship of the CMA-CGM "Jacques-Saadé", the largest in the world powered by liquefied natural gas, Edouard Philippe therefore walked around from the owner to Mr. Castex , six months after becoming mayor of his hometown again.

And when Mr. Castex sits under the eyes of the cameras in the armchair of the captain of the ship, Mr. Philippe, himself, steps aside and observes in the distance the rays of the sun piercing the clouds over the mouth of the Seine.

True to his reserve - Mr. Philippe has set himself a line of conduct not to comment on national news - no subtitle to decipher on the current vaccination campaign, or the evolution of the epidemic.

To his former ministers present in Le Havre, he distributes a few jokes, such as Jean-Baptiste Djebbari, former airplane pilot and in charge of Transport, invited to "take off" the container ship.

And positioned between the local elected officials, Mr. Philippe, whose popularity has remained at the zenith since his departure from Matignon, will listen, with a placid air, Mr. Castex plait him laurels for his management of the coronavirus crisis.

- "Courage" and "clairvoyance" -

"You had, with the courage, the coolness and the foresight that everyone recognizes you and of which I am the privileged witness to have served by your side for several weeks, to manage the first wave of this unexpected and violent pandemic which shakes the world for a year now, "notably recalled Mr. Castex, who was in charge of the first deconfinement of May 2020 under the aegis of Mr. Philippe, before succeeding him in early July.

Later, and before meeting for half an hour in private with Mr. Philippe at the Town Hall, Mr. Castex will also pay "tribute to the very ambitious economic and social decisions" taken last spring and since "amplified" .

But this visit was also an opportunity to announce progress on several projects previously and twice over by Mr. Philippe, such as the merger in a single establishment of the ports of Le Havre, Rouen and Paris (HAROPA).

This new entity, which will be officially created on June 1, 2021 and headquartered in Le Havre, will benefit from an "investment plan amounting to 1 billion 450 million euros over the period 2020-2027 which will correspond to the doubling of investments ", declared Mr. Castex at the end of the annual meeting of the Interministerial Committee.

Mr. Castex also announced the launch of a large wind farm project off the coast of Oléron, over an area of ​​300 km2 and intended to produce up to 1 gigawatt of electricity.

"This is a project of considerable magnitude and the National Commission for Public Debate will be seized of it without delay," said the Prime Minister, recalling that the development of offshore wind power should ultimately contribute to reducing the share of nuclear power in France (50% by 2035).

Desirous of "adopting a very offensive approach (...) to regain market share" in the face of foreign competition, France is also starting to reflect on the fiscal attractiveness of its ports, thus hoping to counter "the offensive of free ports that our British friends intend to develop following Brexit, "said Mr Castex.

Decisions should be taken in this direction at the next meeting of this Committee.

© 2021 AFP