Arthur de Laborde with AFP 18:58 p.m., March 25, 2023

This Saturday afternoon, Édouard Philippe gathered his troops at the Parc Floral de Vincennes for the first congress of his party Horizons. A meeting attended by Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne who, despite the dispute over the pension reform, assured that she would not give up on building compromises.

"Horizons is and will remain a member of the majority" but this majority "could work better". At the first congress of his party, Saturday in Vincennes, Edouard Philippe gave pledges of unity to Emmanuel Macron and Elisabeth Borne, pleading for greater "stability" of the "central bloc". More than 3,000 people were present in the large hall of the Parc Floral de Vincennes to listen to the speech of the former Prime Minister, whose party (20,000 members claimed) held its first Congress since its foundation in Le Havre in October 2021.

Despite the challenge to the pension reform, the security situation and difficulties in transport, "we have not given up holding this first congress," explained Edouard Philippe. But if the attendance was at the rendezvous, the program had been somewhat revised: exit the contest of eloquence reserved for the young people of the party and the subjects too light. Instead, a kind of unity therapy for a majority put to the test, in the presence of Elisabeth Borne who assured that she would not "give up convincing".

>> READ ALSO - Pensions: Édouard Philippe supports a reform "necessary" and to "do quickly"

"Horizons is a member of the parliamentary majority"

And the party of the right wing of the majority will be there, assured Édouard Philippe. "Horizons is a member of the parliamentary majority, a full member of the majority" and "determined that this majority can govern and make the decisions that are necessary for our country," he said from the central stage, casual dress, microphone headband de rigueur. Message conveyed to "those who doubt and chew their resentment, so that those who like to put disproportionate lenses on the slightest deviation or the slightest difference" within the majority.

A necessary clarification after some episodes of tension between Horizons and the presidential party Renaissance, notably illustrated by the rejection of a bill on recidivism carried by the Philippian deputy Naïma Moutchou. This majority "can work better", nevertheless added Édouard Philippe. An observation shared by François Bayrou, who assured of the "solidarity" of the MoDem by adding that "this ideal (had) for the moment only been unequally respected", before slipping away to attend a rugby match.

>> READ ALSO - Horizons: the majority wants to "unite" with Edouard Philippe's deputies despite tensions

Risk of "total ungovernability"

"If we divide, if we start this precious unity, it is the RN that will come out strengthened, it is the Nupes that we will consolidate," also warned the secretary general of Renaissance, Stéphane Séjourné. Edouard Philippe therefore pleaded the "absolute necessity to organize the central bloc", including with "partners who do not want to be associated with the majority", among the Republicans who were ready to vote for the pension reform, but also among the "social democrats" who do not find themselves in the Nupes dominated by Jean-Luc Mélenchon's Unsubmissive France. Otherwise, warned the mayor of Le Havre, the France risks finding itself in a "total ungovernability" and an "absolute conflictuality".

The former prime minister has been pleading since the 2022 legislative elections, which deprived Emmanuel Macron of an absolute majority, for the need for a coalition. An option that is not currently favored by Emmanuel Macron and Elisabeth Borne, who intend to seek in the coming weeks "project majorities". The context therefore did not lend itself to major announcements. Edouard Philippe therefore spoke at length about the pension reform, which he supported while paying tribute to the "very great responsibility" of the unions, but also of the school and the international situation.

In addition to the meeting of the various party bodies, the day began with several workshops on ecology, Europe, schools and solidarity. "This is the first round table of the day, it is on ecology, and we are not a left-wing party," said the Minister of Ecological Transition and Secretary General of Horizons, Christophe Béchu.