His speech was eagerly awaited. Emmanuel Macron was interviewed on Tuesday, July 23, three days before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games and just over three weeks after the second round of legislative elections triggered by his dissolution of the Assemblée Nationale.
In his first televised interview since the second round of legislative elections on July 7, Macron reiterated that he had chosen dissolution "in conscience," and felt that he had "taken responsibility" in asking the French to choose in a situation he felt was deadlocked. The president acknowledged the defeat of the outgoing majority, "of course," but said that "nobody has won."
Asked about the RN being excluded from positions in the Assemblée – despite receiving almost 11 million votes in the first round –, the president felt that "it should be heard and respected." However, as he was "not [in charge of] the rules at the Assemblée Nationale" and referring to the separation of powers, Macron made it clear that even if it "wasn't a good thing," he wasn't responsible for it; while pointing out "that there are no deputy MPs."
Asked about the Nouveau Front Populaire's proposal to appoint Lucie Castets as prime minister, the head of state brushed aside the question: "That's not the issue." "The issue is not a name given by a political group," he added, believing that "it would be false to say that the Nouveau Front Populaire has a majority of any kind."
In particular, Macron took as an example the defeat of NFP candidate André Chassaigne in the election for president of the Assemblée against the presidential camp's candidate, Yaël Braun-Pivet. "The question is, what majority can emerge in the Assemblée so that a government of France can pass reforms, pass a budget, and move the country forward?" he explained.
For the president of the Republic, "the lesson" of the legislative elections "is that nobody can apply their policy platform (...) whether it's a joint one or not." "None of them can do it, neither the Nouveau Front Populaire, nor the outgoing majority, in other words, Ensemble pour la République with MoDem and Horizon, nor the Droite Républicaine," he continued.
Macron therefore called on the parties to "step up to the moment and the responsibilities that the French people have given [them]," which to him meant "leave behind their positions to some extent" and "know how to compromise." He felt that the legislative pact proposed by the Droite Républicaine was going "in the right direction."
Macron declared that the resigned government would remain in place at least "until mid-August." "We're not in a situation where we can change things because we'd be creating a mess," he stated, referring to the "political truce" he had already mentioned.
Asked about his possible resignation in the event of political deadlock, Macron once again brushed off such a hypothesis. "The French people have entrusted me with a mandate. I asked for it for the second time. They have entrusted it to me for the second time, and I will fulfill it in its entirety," he stated, arguing that "[his] wish is stability for the country." He then once again defended the dissolution of the Assemblée despite the political crisis it had caused, expressing the hope that it would not be dissolved again in a year's time. "If the forces that can secure a majority want stability, there will be no dissolution," he asserted.
Macron believes that the Olympic Games in France will provide "a great narrative of emancipation and freedom." "I'm very proud that we're a living democracy that was able to hold unprecedented elections, that emerges with an unprecedented political landscape. And which is going to see itself organize unique Games," he argued, adding: "That's France."
On the sporting aspect of these Olympic Games, Macron recalled that he had put pressure on the athletes the day after the Tokyo Games to do better in Paris. "We reinvested in training, support for our top athletes, their income, their stability. We had so many top athletes before who were below the poverty line. There are no more at these Games," he boasted. Before issuing a reminder of the objective that had been set: "We need to be in the top 5" in the medal rankings.
Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version.