The surge in prices at the pump and the state of the Russian threat should occupy most of Emmanuel Macron's interview Thursday at 8 p.m. on TF1 and France 2. The opportunity for the Head of State to stay in the game while posing as a "guarantor" of the presidential election. Seven months before his departure from the Élysée, Emmanuel Macron appears mainly on the international level but wants to show on Thursday, by answering for 30 to 40 minutes to questions from Gilles Bouleau (TF1) and Caroline Roux (Francetv), that his action remains correlated to the daily lives of the French. A simultaneous exercise on the two major PAF channels that he had not practiced since June 2024. It was three days before a dissolution which caused his early erasure from the national scene, where he no longer has as many levers to influence due to lack of majority in the National Assembly, not to mention declining popularity.
The context of crises, however, opens a new window for him, into which he rushed last week by inviting party leaders and certain presidential candidates to the Élysée. A meeting at the end of which he painted a dark picture of the state of the world, between the wars in the Near and Middle East, or Russia's “hybrid” attacks in Europe. Some of the participants left feeling “dizzy”, others on the contrary denounced “a communication operation” or even, according to Éric Ciotti, a diversion to “hide the French decline”.
“I hope that this evening he will explain what he told us during the meeting”: “that this crisis, given the antagonism between the United States and Iran, the effects on the production, refining and distribution of gasoline, it will last,” declared Édouard Philippe on Thursday on RTL. But this situation "is likely to last", "the return to normal should not take place before the presidential election", underlines the president's entourage, for whom it will be a question of "showing to what extent France is acting".
The fuel front, which is causing social anger to boil, is the most visible for the French who see their purchasing power shrink as the price of diesel increases - on average Wednesday, 2.40 euros per liter in France, according to an AFP analysis of public data - or gasoline SP98 (2.26 euros) and SP95-E10 (2.16 euros). Despite new aid unveiled Tuesday evening, the government, without budgetary margin, appears helpless: 70% of French people consider it insufficient, according to an Elabe poll for BFMTV on Wednesday. And nearly 8 out of 10 anticipate the continued rise in fuel prices. In this context, if the president “asked the government to support working people”, he will want to demonstrate on Thursday that “the most effective remains diplomatic action in the long term”.
“We are not intimidated”
Emmanuel Macron has indeed held a series of meetings in recent weeks, with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salman, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, King Abdullah of Jordan and even Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, to try to open new markets and secure oil supplies, disrupted by the extreme tensions in the strategic Straits of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb. In New York on Monday, he also presented initiatives to Donald Trump, including that of an “energy truce” in the conflict in Ukraine. “All his diplomatic action consists of trying to change daily life,” insists those around him. The other main part of the interview should be devoted to “recalling the state of the Russian threat and saying what is being done to counter it”.
“There is Doctor Emmanuel in New York and Mr. Macron in France,” rebellious Manon Aubry accused Thursday on franceinfo: the one “who rightly denounces the actions of the Israeli government” and “the same one who refuses to take sanctions against the government of Benyamin Netanyahu.” The other major part of the interview should be devoted to “recalling the state of the Russian threat and saying what is being done to counter it.”
By way of illustration, the president should return to an event that he considers revealing but undervalued in public opinion: the presence of explosive drones at the German airport of Leipzig which, if they had exploded as planned against Ukrainian planes, would probably have caused human losses. A failed attack attributed to Moscow. On Friday, the head of state had already assured the press that Russian hybrid attacks would “not go unanswered”. “We are not intimidated,” he insisted, however, calling for greater protection of the country’s critical infrastructure and sensitive sites “against drone attacks and cyber attacks.”
A way for him to also position himself in the presidential campaign, as a “guarantor” of an election over which there is a risk of foreign interference. But “without ever polluting” the election, promises those around him, while the president is careful not to endorse any successor.
