Interview with Emmanuel Macron on TF1: communication strings at the Coluche

Bruno Donnet 09:47, May 16, 2023

Every day, Bruno Donnet scrutinizes major media events. This morning, he returns to the interview that Emmanuel Macron gave last night to TF1.

On the political communication front, the world after looks furiously like the world before!

What for?

Because the logic, the mechanics, between the one who asks the questions and the one who is supposed to answer them is always absolutely the same.

And this balance, someone we really liked, here at Europe 1, had already described, extremely precisely, in May 1985, when asked about the mechanics of interviews... politicians, a certain Coluche, had replied that "It's very simple, we bring a politician, we ask him a question, he does not answer and we move on to another! "

A politician, we ask him a question, he does not answer and we move on to another.

Well, that's exactly what happened yesterday.

So let's take three examples.

First, last night, Gilles Bouleau asked a very simple question to the President of the Republic, about Volodymyr Zélensky's visit: "He necessarily asked you for fighter jets, as he asks all the Western leaders he meets. You said no? Not for today? Not for tomorrow? Not forever? »

He asked him if he was going to provide planes to Ukraine. And here is what Emmanuel Macron replied: "We opened the door to train pilots."

He did not answer his question and, probably, to remain faithful to the spirit of Coluche, Gilles Bouleau naturally moved on to another.

Second, he asked him about inflation and those who exaggerate price increases, but this time with a small strategic shift: "If an agri-food company does not play the game, a supermarket does not play the game, you twist their arm? Do you denounce them? You give their names in public so that they line up?

Here, the change is that since the president does not answer when asked a question, Gilles Bouleau proposed a MCQ, a multiple-choice questionnaire. Lack of bowl, the interviewer of TF1 has not had more success with this method.

Because Emmanuel Macron remained on an observation. An observation that everyone had already made before him: "We have large groups, on some products bah they quickly passed on the increase, they passed on less quickly the decrease. "

Finally, thirdly, Gilles Bouleau asked the president about Elisabeth Borne and her political future: "A word, a word from your prime minister. Tomorrow, she will celebrate her first birthday at Matignon, will she still be there at Matignon in a year? »

That's it, the question was clear: are you going to fire her, or not?

But the answer was once again extremely convoluted: "This is the life of institutions, political life and the constitution gives the president of the republic the responsibility of appointing a prime minister. But I am very proud to have appointed Elisabeth Borne a year ago. »

That's it, no answer, we will not know if Elisabeth Borne will still be at Matignon in a year.

Regarding the question that Gilles Bouleau asked Emmanuel Macron about the pension reform and the use of 49.3, it would have been necessary to change Coluche.

And yes, to the question on the 49.3, the President of the Republic replied, very surprisingly, to the journalist of TF1: "You have been working for several years on a channel that our French love, which was privatized because a law allowed it in the 80s. It passed with section 49.3. »

An answer completely unrelated to the question of pensions. An answer that made me think that our dear Coluche had, also, very brilliantly theorized the answers that sometimes bring politicians: "It's guys that when you ask them a question, the time they have finished answering, you understand more the question you asked! "

Coluche, best columnist of France to unravel the communication strings of a president of the republic who was not yet 10 years old, when he died. Who would have believed it?