• Emmanuel Macron held a press conference on the French presidency of the European Union (PFUE) this Thursday at the Elysee Palace.

  • In front of a hundred journalists, the President of the Republic spoke of the European projects for the months to come.

  • Asked about Eric Zemmour or his probable candidacy, the head of state refused to comment on the campaign.

It is not so often that Emmanuel Macron responds to the media during a press conference at the Elysee Palace. The Head of State invited, this Thursday afternoon, a hundred journalists to discuss the French presidency of the European Union, in the first half of 2022. “We must move from a Europe of cooperation within our borders to a powerful Europe in the world, fully sovereign, free of its choices and master of its destiny ”, summarizes the President of the Republic straight away.

Reform of the Schengen area, need to "rethink the budgetary framework" and the rule of 3% deficits, European civic service for young people ... For an hour, Emmanuel Macron talks about the projects, sometimes technical, of the months to come.

And, when turning the microphone in the room, the president warns: "I will not dwell on questions of national policy, I will not dodge them, but this is not the heart of this press conference. .

"

"We did not choose the calendar, that's how it is"

The head of state is smiling. He knows that this conference comes as the presidential campaign accelerates. He also knows that this EU presidency will have a full impact on the elections for next April and the legislative elections in June. A risk of political confusion, or even of “recovery” for his own re-election, as his opponents already accuse him? “We didn't choose the schedule, that's how it is. It is the fruit of the implementation of Brexit which has disrupted the order of our [rotating EU] presidencies. We must play our role, "sweeps Emmanuel Macron. “We must consider that France has continuity. Perhaps France's policy will change [after the presidential election], but France will remain France, ”he adds.

The president also responds to criticism from his opponents, who accuse him of campaigning during his last trips.

“The mandate given to me by the French, I will exercise until the last quarter of an hour.

Health, migration and energy challenges imply choices.

Tell me when to stop working democratically?

This is the end of the mandate, ”he said.

An indirect response to Eric Zemmour's attacks

But in recent days, the attacks have redoubled in intensity against the head of state. Sunday, Jean-Luc Mélenchon invited the president to “come into the arena and agree to debate”. During the exchange with the press, the president does not change lines and remains distant. Asked about the constitutional changes proposed by some candidates to free themselves from European law, particularly on immigration, the president refuses to "comment on these campaign topics", adding, however, lip service, that these proposals were lacking " precision ”.

Because, even if he is not yet a candidate, we feel that Emmanuel Macron is in a hurry to enter the battle. When a journalist asks him about Eric Zemmour's position, he first sweeps: "It is not up to the President of the Republic to qualify or disqualify a candidate for an upcoming election, it is French people to decide sovereignly. »Before being more firm. “The controversy is the French spirit, but the hatred is the hatred of France […] The role of our institutions is to keep the country where it should be. Do not concede anything to racism, or anti-Semitism, or the questioning of our values, or the manipulation of our history ". Before spinning, the Head of State uses a last pirouette, when a journalist asks him about his probable candidacy.“I will obviously not answer but I understand that you ask me this question. I take it almost as a call. "

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