Alexis Delafontaine / Photo credits: Anne-Christine POUJOULAT / AFP 17:46 p.m., May 19, 2023

It is an arrow that is missing from his bow. Gérald Darmanin, present on all fields in France, is now tackling the international. On a trip, in Washington and then in New York, on the theme of police cooperation and decolonization, the Minister of the Interior wants to gain in thickness.

From Place Beauvau to Quantico. For his first trip to the lands of Uncle Sam, Gérald Darmanin toured the most emblematic sites of the American police. On the spot, Lisa Monaco, Deputy Secretary of Justice, and her counterpart Alejandro Mayorkas act as a guide for the Minister of the Interior, received with great pomp by the highest police authorities in the United States.

On the menu: drugs, terrorism and cyber

On Twitter, the "first cop" of France insists on the reason for his trip: the strengthening of police and judicial cooperation.

Thank you to Lisa Monaco, U.S. Assistant Secretary of Justice, for the exchange we had this morning in Washington. Our two countries will continue to engage closely in the fight against drug trafficking, cybercrime and terrorism. pic.twitter.com/iXMbXLyaaf

— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) May 18, 2023

"Our two countries will continue to be closely committed to the fight against drug trafficking, cybercrime and terrorism," insists Gérald Darmanin.

I am delighted to see my American counterpart @SecMayorkas in Washington this morning. Together, we discussed the migratory challenges facing our two countries, the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking that fully mobilize our services, and our... pic.twitter.com/30gO6nCWuS

— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) May 18, 2023

"Together, we discussed the migratory challenges facing our two countries, the fight against terrorism and drug trafficking, which fully mobilize our services, and our cooperation in view of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games," he added.

At Quantico, the @FBI's training center, very interesting exchanges with police officers and instructors on the intervention techniques of the police. pic.twitter.com/ZGvUPiPTxM

— Gérald DARMANIN (@GDarmanin) May 19, 2023

At FBI headquarters in Quantico, the Minister of the Interior came to look for the latest technologies in forensic science. "We must always look for what is best, elsewhere," continues an adviser.

In a period of tension, against a backdrop of demonstrations against the pension reform, resurgence of the ultra-right and ultra-left movement, Gérald Darmanin also went to the headquarters of the New York police, the famous NYPD (New York City Police Department). He will attend this Friday, simulations of policing, or scenario in which the police may or may not open fire.

>> READ ALSO – Ultra-right: why it will be difficult for Darmanin to ban all demonstrations

Making your English resonate at the United Nations

In the process, Gérald Darmanin will speak, in English, before the C24, the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization. He will recall the official position of the France on the thorny issue of New Caledonia, a territory that is one of the 17 classified by the organization as "in need of self-determination". Before a trip to New Caledonia in the coming weeks.

"It's not a communication plan"

The UN is a mandatory passage for any candidate who aspires to the presidency of the Republic and strongly recommended to those who are eyeing Matignon. The entourage of the Minister of the Interior, cut short any overinterpretation: "This is not a communication plan" objects an adviser. "He is in his role, his ministry has a strong diplomatic significance, we must not forget that," he continues. He added: "The minister has already visited the Maghreb many times for the migration issue, or even Russia before the war. He's always had that international notion."

As the end of the 100 days granted by the president to Elisabeth Borne is approaching, the ministers presented as a possible successor are making a series of trips abroad: Gabriel Attal in the United States, Bruno Le Maire in India or Clément Beaune in Portugal. Each wants to show that beyond his portfolio, he knows how to manage international issues, even if "Emmanuel Macron's grip on subjects abroad is very strong," concedes a majority executive.