According to sources, Gabriel Attal tried to dissuade his boss when French President Emmanuel Macron told him about calling a snap election just hours before announcing it on television.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a minister and another government source said that after failing in his bid to dissuade Macron, Attal implored him to accept his resignation.
However, Macron rejected the offer by Attal and some hours later dissolved parliament as exit polls suggested Marine Le Pen’s National Rally (RN) trounced his ticket.
Le Monde newspaper and other French media first reported the resignation bid by Attal, indicating that it was not all smooth sailing for Macron who took a huge gamble with the snap elections at great risk of sabotaging its own political project. No comment came from Attal’s office when requested.
Now he risks losing out on the post to Jordan Bardella, 28-years-old the party president of RN if he is sacked by the People-Centrist Movement following next year’s legislative race since had been speculated as Macron’s successor for 2027.
According to the sources, this was kept secret from everybody except for a few advisors close to Macron including Minister of Interior Gerald Darmanin who is another possible successor advocating for snap election and Bruno Roger-Petit who is former journalist turned strategist that has been behind President Macron rightward move in recent years.
Macron arrived at this conclusion together with his closest aides over several weeks prior to Sunday’s announcement that he must push through an immediate election rather than wait until conservative no-confidence motions later in 2022 which would have left him weakened.
Sources noted that during an emergency cabinet meeting convened shortly after making a snap poll announcement on Sunday evening, ministers were silent as President Emmanuel talked about giving French people an opportunity “to regain control” of their parliament again; they said chaos had gripped its premises.
Those present at the Elysée palace meeting said that there had been a bit of bafflement, surprise and some resistance from those who supported this possibility like Gerald.
According to two sources, Attal has been given the responsibility by Macron to run his campaign during the three-week period.
Attal’s resignation has not seen him make any public declarations yet however he let deputies know last Tuesday behind closed doors that “the game is not over” and that he would do all in his power “to avoid the worst.”
There was also concern throughout Europe as well.
‘It is what it means for us,’ said an EU diplomat.
No certainty
These hard-line approaches were often adopted by left-wing MPs in particular during filibustering tactics which have led to a divided lower house since the 2022 parliamentary polls where Macron lost his majority.
The entourage of the president revealed that he made this decision after seeing people while out and about around Normandy on Friday 6th June, which marked the 80th anniversary of D-Day landings telling him they wanted end to endless political wrangling in parliament. But as Le Pen’s humiliation in Sunday’s vote loomed larger, so did this plan.
According to one insider who claimed knowledge of Macron’s war plan, he remains convinced that he can win, placing his bets on the fact that a short campaign – that is the minimum period allowed for by law — will throw off his adversaries.
Another source familiar with Macron’s thinking told this writer that also at the back of his mind is the thought that giving RN a chance to display incompetence ahead of 2027 presidential election where Le Pen is a favorite has some merit.
The source said: “He doesn’t have certainty but probabilities. The first one, it seems certain that RN does not win. Also there is potential for RN to win simple majority, in which case yes…a show of incompetence.”
However, among empty corridors filled by Macronistas which were formerly occupied by National Assembly, they were not much enthusiastic.
“That never pleases anyone to go campaiging,” Emmanuel Pellerin, who is an MP from Macron’s party. “It’s difficult times. One cannot say it’s fun.”
