During a campaign meeting for Valérie Hayer in Paris on May 7, 2024, Edouard Philippe expressed his views. Emmanuel Macron does not like being lectured, especially when it comes from Edouard Philippe, his former Prime Minister whom he feels he owes a lot to. Macron, speaking from Nouméa on May 23, stated that he would not push through the constitutional law on the expansion of the electoral body in New Caledonia, which had led to violent riots on the archipelago. Macron emphasized that his approach, criticized in the New Caledonian issue, was a result of collective work, indirectly holding his former Prime Minister responsible.
Macron, before leaving New Caledonia, acknowledged that the path followed by his government, as laid out in the Nouméa Accords, had not adequately considered the aftermath. A confidant of the President stressed the importance of humility when faced with something greater than oneself. The Elysée did not appreciate Edouard Philippe’s warnings on this complex issue. On May 21, Philippe, speaking from Bayonne, expressed hope that Macron’s announcements would meet expectations, almost putting pressure on the President, shortly before his departure for the island. Experts had praised Philippe’s work during his tenure as Prime Minister.
Edouard Philippe, who served as Prime Minister from 2017 to July 2020, had been deeply involved in the New Caledonian dossier, agreeing to the method and the symbolic weight of the issue, according to former advisor Jean-François Merle. After Philippe’s departure, there was a lack of leadership at Matignon and no more signing committees involving the stakeholders of the Nouméa Accords to prepare for their implementation. The arrival of Jean Castex as Prime Minister saw the issue put aside, as noted by Naïma Moutchou, a member of the mission on the institutional future of New Caledonia in the French National Assembly.
The method employed by Philippe, described as laborious yet effective, did not align with the “start-up nation” ethos of Macron’s government. The handling of the New Caledonia issue post-Philippe’s term involved passing the responsibility to the Minister of Overseas Territories, Sébastien Lecornu, and later to the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin. The complexity of the New Caledonian situation and the lack of coherent approach following Philippe’s departure highlight the challenges faced by the Macron administration in navigating delicate territorial issues. It remains to be seen how the government will address these challenges moving forward.
