Elisabeth Borne's voice wavered as she took the podium in Tourcoing's botanical gardens (near Lille in northern France) on Sunday, August 27. The French prime minister gradually regained control of the situation as she delivered a speech replete with well-chosen barbs aimed at her target: Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. "Gérald (...), we know the difficulties of the French because we've lived through them," she attacked, all the while avoiding Darmanin's gaze, who was seated opposite her.

Slighted at not having been appointed prime minister, Darmanin launched a political offensive over the summer, rallying supporters in his northern bastion of Tourcoing. Highlighting his working-class origins, he said he was concerned about the French government's disconnection from the people, which he said could pave the way for a Rassemblement National (far-right party) victory in 2027. "We don't go after middle and working-class France as a calculated move, as the Rassemblement National does," Borne admonished him. Anything that undermines the unity of the majority is tantamount to "paving the way for the extremes ourselves," she asserted.

As a final blow, the prime minister offered a round of applause to Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire, Gérald Darmanin's prospective rival in the 2027 presidential election, despite Le Maire's absence from the rally. "As soon as she can remind Darmanin 'who the boss is,' Elisabeth Borne is happy," said Karl Olive, a Renaissance MP (President Emmanuel Macron's governing party, of which Borne, Darmanin and Le Maire are all members) from the Paris region who is close to Darmanin. "She's shot up in confidence," said an Elysée advisor.

A month later, Borne has lost some of her summer swagger. As she did last year, she has prepared to unleash a long series of measures in the Assemblée Nationale using Article 49.3 of the French Constitution. This article, which she used to pass the public finance programming bill without a vote in the evening of Wednesday, September 27 – having already used it 11 times since becoming prime minister in May 2022 – should also enable her to force approval for her government's budget in the coming weeks.

A long and tortuous budgetary drama will take place in Parliament until December, punctuated by the tabling of votes of no confidence from opposition parties, following the example set by the left wing in calling for such a vote on Wednesday evening. In March, after the pension reform, only nine votes prevented the government from being overthrown. What will happen this time? "We'll see," answered Borne during a meeting with Le Monde, at the end of September.

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