Arthur de Laborde / Photo credits: MUSTAFA YALCIN / ANADOLU / ANADOLU VIA AFP 07:52, December 22, 2023

After the departure of Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau, the resignation of Higher Education Minister Sylvie Retailleau was refused by the Élysée and Matignon following the adoption of the immigration law. Emmanuel Macron wanted to turn the page on this bad sequence by speaking on television on Wednesday evening, but did he convince his troops?

After Aurélien Rousseau, it was the Minister of Higher Education and Research, Sylvie Retailleau, who submitted her resignation to Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday, due to a "deep disagreement" on the measures concerning students in the immigration law, but it was refused on Thursday. "Emmanuel Macron has lost his grip," said a left-wing deputy, who was not reassured by the president's speech. However, according to his Renaissance colleague, Paul Midy, this view is in the minority, and he dismisses the risk of paralysis.

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Divisions that will come at a price for some

"I think that the PR was very clear and pedagogical to put into perspective what was in this law and what we wanted to do. I hope that we will be able to start again without any difficulty in the fall, with subjects that will perhaps be more consensual in the majority. We have a lot of issues ahead of us, whether it's the ability to go to full employment or for example the ecological transition," Paul Midy told Europe 1 radio.

However, several Macronists believe that the divisions will be paid for as soon as the next election takes place. "We're going to lose to the centre-left and the centre-right in the European elections," predicted a Horizons politician. In his view, the majority gave the impression that they were reluctantly voting for the immigration law, whereas it had every interest in accepting it since it is widely supported by public opinion.