Editorial. How far will the loyal Sébastien Lecornu be able to break away from Emmanuel Macron to keep his promises of "breakaways"?

Barely installed at Matignon, he promises "breaks" in style and "substance." But how can you embody change when you are first and foremost the heir to the leader, chosen precisely to extend the presidential line?

Upon taking office on Wednesday, September 10, at Matignon, Sébastien Lecornu promised " breaks " in " form ," but also " in substance ." It's normal for the new arrival to announce change. Given the massacre of Prime Ministers and the record unpopularity of the executive, it would have been surprising if he had started by saying: " Everything is going well, we're carrying on as before! " Sébastien Lecornu also wants to be " more creative ," " more technical ," and " more serious " than his predecessor. This won't be very difficult, as François Bayrou's style of governance often seemed too personal, messy, even unpredictable, until his final hara-kiri.

The new Prime Minister has already launched all-out consultations. But this isn't really a " break " in methodology. Michel Barnier and François Bayrou had started the same way. And for three years, lacking an absolute majority, Emmanuel Macron has multiplied new forums to dialogue with his opponents: the Saint-Denis format meetings, the National Refoundation Council, and others. All have failed.

If everything failed, it was precisely for lack of a " substantive break ," that is, a lack of content, of concessions. " Substance is the form that rises to the surface ," said Victor Hugo. Except that to appease the left, that's not enough. You need hard cash. A non-censorship agreement with the socialists is expensive. However, at the Élysée, Emmanuel Macron repeats that there is no question of breaking with the supply-side policy and increasing work. Hands off pension reform either, because " it's good for the country ," he says. As for raising certain taxes, he doesn't want to hear about it either. To achieve " substantive breaks ," Sébastien Lecornu will therefore have to free himself, a little, from his tutor.

It's not simple. The president made a comfortable choice, that of appointing his shadow to Matignon. Gabriel Attal was another of his disciples and he knows the cost of distancing oneself from the man who propelled you to Matignon: dissolution and the door after six months. " Rupture " is difficult to embody when you are first and foremost the leader's heir. It was Nicolas Sarkozy's slogan in 2007, but he waged incessant guerrilla warfare against Jacques Chirac, who had never appointed him to Matignon. Unless the youthful ardor of Sébastien Lecornu resurrects the head of state's promises of a " great evening ." After all, hadn't candidate Macron published a book in 2017, entitled Revolution , which professed the advent of a " new world ." As Joe Dassin said, it was eight years ago, a century ago, an eternity ago...