Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée Palace, September 4, 2025. KAMIL ZIHNIOGLU FOR LE MONDE
President Emmanuel Macron arrived barely 15 minutes late, tanned and smiling. It was as if the political chaos outside did not exist. The outgoing prime minister, Sébastien Lecornu, had just left the Elysée Palace on Monday, October 6, at 5:15 pm, tasked with the nearly impossible mission of conducting "final discussions" by Wednesday evening, in an attempt to form a last-chance government. Yet Macron appeared entirely at ease. "Radiant," as two guests at this curious end-of-day event described him. It was as though the calls for his resignation from the radical left and the far right had not penetrated the stone walls of the Elysée Palace.
Subscribers only
After PM's resignation, Macron hints at snap elections
Rachida Dati was already there. She was the only one still playing – with her typical spectacular audacity – her role as culture minister in a government that now exists only in a caretaker capacity. Politics is sometimes an art of concealment and, like her, Macron is a seasoned practitioner. So, on Monday, the president decided to step away from the troubling din outside to award honors.
