"I feel the need to speak directly with the French people": François Bayrou turns to podcasts to sell his budget to the French

Some will see it as a good way to get some sleep, but he wants to see it as a special moment with the French people. François Bayrou is launching, this Tuesday, August 5, "FB Direct", a podcast in which the Prime Minister will try to put out the fire by explaining to his listeners his austere budget project for 2026. Accompanied by a series of videos, this "podcast" will be broadcast daily, according to Le Parisien , and will devote its first issue "to the general framework and the need to reduce the country's debt" .

Each day, the episodes will cover several themes to discuss the dangers of debt and the solutions proposed by the Pau native to address it, in line with the plan he presented on July 15. Listeners will also be able, starting next week, to ask questions to the MoDem leader, who will answer them in subsequent episodes. This is not a new approach. François Hollande has already launched his own monthly podcast, "A President Should Listen to This," while Emmanuel Macron has taken to answering questions from internet users via video.

But, "this is such a crucial moment that I feel the need to speak directly with the French people. So that each of them, personally, can form an opinion," François Bayrou told Le Parisien. "I don't have the impression that the political class is, with some exceptions, about to assume this responsibility. But the French, perhaps. And since we have the whole month of August and the beginning of September, we have a period of time that could be useful for such an awareness," the Prime Minister added.

For the man whom pollsters have labeled the most unpopular Prime Minister of the Fifth Republic, this podcast would allow him to speak directly to the French people and put into practice his mantra "Never without the French." A way, in a way, of putting himself on the same level as the citizens to make them understand the supposed merits of the measures planned for 2026. It's also a good way to control his communication by avoiding the media and their questions. However, it's hard to believe that this one-on-one with the French people will be enough to reverse opinion and escape the censorship that the left and the National Rally are promising for the start of the school year.