Support for Macron got him nowhere
One thing, at least, is clear when it comes to Renaud Muselier: he is not weighed down by convictions. Chirac supporter, Sarkozy supporter then Macronist... A flamboyant defender of the «republican front» to keep the Region, yet refusing to drop Vassal when the latter adopts Pétain's Vichy slogan «Work, Family, Fatherland». One would have the greatest difficulty finding the slightest ideological coherence in this political trajectory. Only ambition seems to guide his steps.
It is she, once again, who is explaining the 'Attalism» of the perpetually serving president of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. As everyone knows, Renaud Muselier's greatest wish above all else is to become a senator in September 2026. He thought he had a clear path ahead of him, but Sabrina Agresti-Roubache has come to upset his plans by announcing her own candidacy. Flabbergasted, Muselier appealed to Emmanuel Macron and Sébastien Lecornu to have what he considers to be his legitimate right restored. The complete lack of any reaction from either the President or the Prime Minister left him thoroughly put out.
Emmanuel Macron had already given nothing to Muselier, despite the massive support provided during the 2022 presidential election[1]. Enough is enough, the Regional President is now trying to thwart Agresti-Roubache's ambitions by capitalising on the yawning divisions within the Macronist camp.
Macron-Attal: relations hit rock bottom, or how to take advantage of the friction within Macron's inner circle.
A step back is necessary. Emmanuel Macron has never had any particular fondness for Attal. The latter entered the government through the back door, and some claim that his romantic relationship with Stéphane Séjourné had something to do with it. One remembers, for example, the oversight of the new Prime Minister, Jean Castex, which revealed on a file in a photo captured by the press: «we must give an extra bone to gnaw for young Gabriel». Since then, Attal has emancipated himself, climbed the ranks and demonstrated indisputable political tactical intelligence.
It is only thanks to intense lobbying by the First Lady in his favour, among other things, that Emmanuel Macron resolved to appoint him Prime Minister on 9 January 2024. With a secret hope: that the person concerned would fail so as to get rid of him.
The dissolution ordered by the President on 9 June 2024 has left the very young Prime Minister, who had been in office for barely six months, high and dry. It has come as a severe blow.
But the caretaker Prime Minister is going to give the Head of State a taste of his own medicine. While Emmanuel Macron is anticipating an RN victory in the legislative elections, which he feels has two advantages:
- make him leave the Élysée through the front door as a unifying father of the nation
- and discredit the RN with a view to the presidential election
Attal foils this plan. Thanks to a certain energy and tactical sense, he is one of the instigators of this famous inter-round «republican front» which will lead to a final result contrary to the vote of the 1ster turn. The RN has been pushed far from power. The June dissolution is taking on the proportions of a political cataclysm due to the absence of any majority, for which Emmanuel Macron alone bears responsibility.
The break is final and absolute between the two men.
A gaping fracture in the Macron camp that Renaud Muselier intends to exploit.
Sabrina Agresti Roubache is close to the Macrons. She will be able to count on their support in the senatorial elections. She lamented the fact that Attal’s «Renaissance» backed Martine Vassal in the recent local elections.
Renaud Muselier, for his part, is now banking on the true boss of the Renaissance party, Gabriel Attal. He is hoping that the publicly shown support will rebalance the game in his favour for the Senate elections.
Thus, beyond the Muselier-Roubache rivalry, it is a power struggle that is playing out between the President and his former Prime Minister. Who will have the most authority? The outgoing President or Attal, who hopes to succeed him? Tensions will run high within the presidential party, where the old Macronist guard is now in the minority.
Will Gabriel Attal be grateful to Renaud Muselier?
Let's be frank: Muselier needs Attal more than Attal needs Muselier. One is coming to the end of the road, while the other believes the future belongs to him. Renaud Muselier's political weight has considerably diminished.
Nevertheless, he provides G. Attal with the invaluable support of a former heavyweight of the right. And he is virtually the only one to do so. The others, who lean towards the centre, have overwhelmingly backed Edouard Philippe. The battle for leadership of the centre or centrist bloc looks set to be particularly fierce between Attal and Philippe. Could this be Renaud Muselier’s chance to come out on top one last time?
[1] Seehttps://www.geopolitics.fr/2026/05/16/a-marseille-droite-annee-zero/
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