"My goal is to speak to the French. They are not all right-wing": Edouard Philippe sets out his ambitions for 2027

"I am angry," writes Edouard Philippe, former Prime Minister of Emmanuel Macron. In The Price of Our Lies, published Wednesday by JC Lattès, the mayor of Le Havre, president of Horizons and candidate in the 2027 presidential election, which takes stock of France, is not stingy with criticism of the choices of the various tenants of the Elysée Palace and outlines the broad outlines of his program. Present in Nice this Saturday, he will be signing his book at 5 p.m. at the Masséna bookstore.

You mention the "lies" that led France to decline. Which is the biggest, the one whose "price" surpasses all the others?

The purpose of the book is not to point the finger at this or that person. It's to describe this tendency we have in France, of not looking at reality, this kind of denial of reality. We say that school is the foundation of the Republic, while it is the one that most reproduces social inequalities of all OECD countries. We explain that our country has been pursuing an austerity policy for a very long time, while we are the one with the most public spending in all of Europe. I try to list the lies we tell ourselves. Then, in three areas: democracy, demography, and diplomacy, I try to show what this implies and what needs to be done.

Your book is "a call for lucidity." Who is it aimed at?

To everyone: politicians, the media, the French people. In two years, there will be presidential elections. It's useful to discuss issues that aren't specific to France. For example, the low birth rate trap. We have an aging society and, at the base of the age pyramid, fewer and fewer births: 1.62 children per woman in France. This doesn't allow for generational renewal. This has consequences for the financing of the social model and dependency. Other countries have learned the lessons of this reality and taken measures, which I also propose: working a little more, working a little longer, implementing a capitalization system, resorting to labor immigration.

For you, is immigration an opportunity?

I never said that. I'm not talking about luck or curse. I'm saying it's a necessity, given our demographic evolution, which requires us to control it much better than we do today.

You were Prime Minister for three years, and therefore accountable for some of what you denounce. Looking back, what mistakes did you make?

I tried to do things. We took measures that reduced unemployment. I tried to reform apprenticeships, and we got results. I reduced the deficit by implementing a policy that also allowed us to reduce taxes. Did I do everything right? Of course not.

You list four priorities, with schools at the top. What do you propose?

For now, I'm not proposing anything; I'm taking stock and working. The presidential election program will come later, after the municipal elections. For now, with working groups, national leaders, through interviews, by participating in conferences, by traveling the country, by reading extensively, I'm trying to develop what I'll propose to the French people when the time comes, on four priority areas: schools, they don't work as they should. We need to rebuild them. Then there's the French social model, its financing, its functioning, with the issue of pensions, health, and social policies. Then there's justice, the weak link in the sovereign chain. Then there's adapting to the challenges of the ecological transition.

Many of you on the right are on the starting line for 2027. Should the right come together and organize a primary, as requested by Cannes Mayor David Lisnard?

I don't quite understand the Cannes mayor's proposal for a primary. More precisely, I don't see how it's possible. Today, you have LR, Horizons, Modem, and Renaissance participating in the same government. They are incapable of agreeing on a coalition contract. They don't talk to each other at the time of investitures, nor on what a program might be in a coalition. And you would want them to agree to designate a candidate for the presidential election in such a broad political arena? If LR, Horizons, Modem, and Renaissance held a primary and, for example, Élisabeth Borne won, do you think David Lisnard would consider that he was bound by this choice and that it was a good choice for him? I don't think so. You can hold a primary within a party. But in such an open political field, it would make no sense.

Can the right win without the alliance?

My point isn't whether the right can win; it's what we're offering the French. I know where I come from, but my point isn't really to embody the right. My point is to speak to the French. They're not all right-wing.

As part of your ambition to lead the country, will Horizons Vice President Christian Estrosi have a place? A role?

I'm glad Christian Estrosi joined me so early on. I'm very proud that he trusts me and to be with him on a political adventure that aims to look ahead, to avoid reducing political life to hatred within political parties. When he speaks, I listen. And when I ask him questions, I'm always open to his opinion.

This Saturday, you're participating in the UNOC Coastal Cities Summit. What solutions are you proposing to preserve the ocean?

I'm participating in the closing session of the Coastal Cities Alliance, launched by Christian Estrosi as part of this summit. On Sunday, I'll be taking part in roundtable discussions in Monaco, in my capacity as Mayor of Le Havre and President of the International Association of Port Cities. This association, which brings together just over 250 cities and ports worldwide, is directly concerned with the issues of ocean preservation, the decarbonization of maritime traffic, and port cities. A large portion of global trade is maritime and port-based. Decarbonizing this transport is doing the planet a favor.

What have you put in place in Le Havre?

We've completed the electrification of the docks that accommodate cruise ships. We're going to move on to electrifying those for container ships. It's good for the planet, but locally, it means less smoke and less pollution. Next, we're thinking about propelling ships with wind—we have a sailing industry that's starting to develop—or with new types of fuel, hydrogen, liquefied gas, ammonia.