A Macron-Le Pen debate ? “Surprising” and not necessarily “necessary” for Edouard Philippe
|Edouard Philippe estime peu pertinent pour le président de la République de débattre avec Mme Le Pen. MAXPPP – Vincent Isore
L’ancien Premier ministre était invité sur LCI sur dimanche soir. Il a douté de la pertinence d’un débat entre le chef de l’État et son ancienne rivale à la présidentielle.
A debate between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen before the European elections, an idea relaunched by the Head of State, would be "surprising", estimated Sunday Édouard Philippe, who does not "know" if such a confrontation would be "necessary".
"Debating, in a democracy, is good", replied Mr. Philippe on LCI, who first questioned him about the advisability of the debate between Gabriel Attal and Jordan Bardella which was held Thursday evening on France 2. "That the Prime Minister, who is the leader of the majority […] discusses, debates with the leader of a political party, that does not seem scandalous to me, and even quite normal< /em>", he elaborated. What about a debate between Emmanuel Macron and Marine Le Pen ? "Let me make a difference", continued the mayor of Le Havre.
"He has the right to want to debate"
"That the Head of State […] explains that, in an otherwise electoral framework, he intends to debate with a personality, who moreover is not party leader […], it’is more surprising", added Édouard Philippe.& nbsp;"I don't know if it’s necessary, it’s a little more surprising", a-t- he said."I'm not sure I would have spontaneously imagined that this would be a good idea". But "it’s the president’s idea, that’s it. He has the right to want to debate", he concluded.
In an interview with Le Parisien published on Saturday, Emmanuel Macron relaunched the idea of a debate with Marine Le Pen. "If we think that this is an election where part of the destiny of France is at stake, which I believe, we must debate. The ball is in his court", said the head of state. Ms. Le Pen reacted by repeating that she was willing to debate on the condition that Mr. Macron "draws the consequences" of his entry "in the electoral arena" and that he "puts his resignation or the dissolution of the Assembly on the table". A condition immediately rejected by Emmanuel Macron. "We have to focus on European issues. Don't stay hidden. And it’s not an election that should change the Constitution", he said on Saturday, speaking to BFMTV.
A coalition with LR ? "I haven't changed my mind…"
Moreover, questioned about the hypothesis, which is circulating even within the government, of a coalition with Les Républicains (LR), Édouard Philippe replied: "that is the Prime Minister who is the leader of the majority. Does he want to get close to the LRs? Does he have a chance of succeeding in building something?"
"I said in 2022 after the legislative elections, immediately after the legislative elections, that in any democracy in the world, the relative majority would have turned towards the party closest to it, likely to be able to provide it with the majority to create a coalition, he recalled. Concluding: "I said it, in 2022, I haven't changed my mind". But "in 2024, it seems much more difficult to me than in 2022".