Former Minister of Interior and Overseas, Gérald Darmanin, and former Prime Minister, Gabriel Attal, met at Matignon on July 31, 2024. Originally scheduled for Sunday, September 15 in Tourcoing, the postponement of Gérald Darmanin’s political comeback to Sunday, September 29 allowed the deputy from the Nord department to add another guest to his list: Gabriel Attal. The event took place under the glass roof of the botanical garden, where the former Prime Minister was scheduled to address several hundred guests including his predecessors Edouard Philippe and Elisabeth Borne, Minister of Defense Sébastien Lecornu, and the President of the Hauts-de-France region Xavier Bertrand.
The presence of the former resident of the Rue de Varenne at the gathering of his former Interior Minister was not initially a certainty at the beginning of September. Attal had indicated that he would not be able to attend the event due to an international commitment at the Yes Forum in Kiev, a convention bringing together Western leaders in support of Ukraine. However, in the following two weeks, the relationship between the two men improved and an “elementary republican elegance” was invoked by Darmanin to justify the rescheduling of his political comeback so as not to overshadow Michel Barnier in choosing his ministers.
Now clear on his position – outside the government after hoping to be reappointed, potentially at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Gérald Darmanin, former mayor of Tourcoing, is now aligned with the stance of his group’s president at the National Assembly, who had already expressed reservations about the new Prime Minister. The parliamentary days of their group officialized the rapprochement between the two men. While Attal’s close associates praised Darmanin for “playing unity”, the former Mayor held an unofficial press briefing to discuss the harmony of his relationship with the group’s president.
The following day, during an executive meeting, they celebrated their new understanding along with the party’s secretary general, Stéphane Séjourné, during a dinner at a nearby brasserie in Paris. The three figures of the presidential camp exchanged anecdotes about Michel Barnier, the catalyst for their alliance, and the maneuvers to maintain ties with the Macron camp since 2017. The growing collaboration between Darmanin and Attal suggests a potential realignment within the political landscape, as they strive to present a united front within the party and potentially beyond.
