Gérald Darmanin, small calculations and big ambitions

The fan spins slowly. It is moistly hot under the faré of the prefect’s residence, hidden behind a curtain of palm trees, ylang-ylang and bougainvillea. On the last day of his visit to Mayotte, Tuesday August 23, Gérald Darmanin, three-day beard and shirt sleeves, has a coffee with his collaborators, in front of the turquoise sea. The conversation slips on the karting race organized at the end of July for the prisoners in the courtyard of the prison of Fresnes (Val-de-Marne), which has been controversial for three days. The Minister of the Interior, who has not reacted in public but raises his eyes to the sky in private, is surprised that the subject has still made, the day before, the opening of the “20 Hours”. “It’s August, there’s nothing in the news,” tries to explain a counselor. The minister laughs: ” There is nothing… ! It’s nice for the one who has worked hard all summer! »

The one who is “decapitated”, it’s him. While the ministers, held in Paris until August 5 by a late parliamentary session, hurried to go on vacation, Gérald Darmanin took the opportunity to distinguish himself, we saw him everywhere. At the bedside of firefighters, on the offensive against urban rodeos or criminals, this “minority of troublemakers” (Sunday newspaper, August 21). He multiplied martial announcementsas in Mayotte, where he proposed to tighten the attribution of nationality to the children of foreigners born on the island or to create “places of recovery” for delinquent children, supervised by soldiers. This has caused real annoyance in the halls of power, where it is judged that “Gerald”, decidedly, always pushes the cork too far.

“Advertisement escalation”

Furious to see the Minister of the Interior and Overseas Territories treading on his flowerbeds, the Keeper of the Seals, Eric Dupond-Moretti, immediately sent a note to Matignon to reframe the debate and show how this measure was inapplicable. for minors under the age of 13. Even Emmanuel Macron, who had nevertheless mentioned this idea during the campaign, judged that he had “slipped” and asked Elisabeth Borne, with whom he had dinner on Tuesday August 23 at the Elysée, to reframe it. The Prime Minister will receive it next week, cold. But already, one subject drives out the other. Barely returned from Mayotte, Mr. Darmanin announced that he would go to West Africa to “annihilate” the crack trade, which is spreading in Paris. “It is inspired by what Nicolas Sarkozy did in 2002 and outlines a strategy for 2027, observes the deputy Les Républicains (LR) of the Alpes-Maritimes Eric Ciotti. He is in an escalation of announcements that are never really followed by effects. It’s devalued Sarko. »

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