Politics. Former Prime Minister Michel Barnier's "Return to the People"

Michel Barnier is at Matignon. Not in the main building, occupied by his successor François Bayrou , but in the annex of the Hôtel de Cassini, at the bottom of the garden. He is working there with Edgar Grospiron on the organization of the 2030 Winter Olympics in the Alps.

But not only that... The shortest-lived Prime Minister of the ^Fifth Republic (99 days interrupted on December 13, 2024) is publishing a book* subtitled "Chronicles for Tomorrow": Michel Barnier is back , without ever really having left, claiming "great serenity and great determination."

The political crisis that brought him down continues. How can we get out of it? "We will regain a stable capacity for managing the country by returning to the people." He explains: "If there is a new parliamentary deadlock and we are unable to produce a useful budget that reduces the deficit, we must return to the people."

In short, dissolve the National Assembly again and call legislative elections. "In June (2024), there was no reason to go to the people. Now, there will be a reason, after the impossibility of governing has been noted twice in a row."

He advocates a return to the people throughout this book in the form of "lessons" learned on the ground since his first election in Tarentaise, at the age of 22. He comments that "popular sentiment" must always be taken into account, not to be confused with the populism that exploits it: "Popular sentiment today is the feeling of exclusion, of lack of consideration, of distance from basic public services. It is the result of a certain arrogance of power, of ministers, of people who pass by, who speak too quickly."

Wasn't he himself taken for a "hick"? "Yes, of course, I know! They were surprised that I became Prime Minister, because I was from the provinces, because I didn't make soundbites." But faced with "national, European, global turbulence," Michel Barnier believes, "citizens need roots, an identity." During his tenure at Matignon, he says, "the French understood that there was a Prime Minister who had white hair, for sure, but who didn't forget his roots."

He insists: "In the street, people stop me to tell me they miss me. Because they felt I was being managed seriously, someone who told the truth and respected them. I'm not making any comparisons, but perhaps that was the difference with a previous, much younger generation (Editor's note: his predecessor Gabriel Attal ): a more serious method." More rigid, too? He smiles, praises the youth of his team and his family circle to affirm: "I'm making progress, I'm relaxing with time."

Michel Barnier is back, waiting. For Matignon II? For the Élysée? He simply says: "As long as I retain my physical and mental capacity, I will continue to defend my ideas. And we'll see where I can be useful."

(*) What I learned from you. Chronicles for tomorrow, by Michel Barnier (Calmann-Lévy editions).