Media: Macron clashes with Interior Minister Retailleau over crime surge

A growing rift between French President Emmanuel Macron and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau has come into public view, following reports of a heated exchange during a recent cabinet meeting and sharp criticism from Retailleau directed at the president’s leadership style.

According to Le Parisien, citing informed government sources, at the most recent cabinet meeting, Macron publicly asked Retailleau “tough questions” concerning the rise in crime in southern France. Journalists suggested that the president’s reaction was a response to a recent article by the interior minister published in Valeurs Actuelles, where he stated that “Macronism will end with Macron” and accused the president of political duplicity.

In the article, Retailleau criticised the president’s political course, arguing that the attempt to merge right- and left-wing agendas results only in governmental paralysis. His remarks provoked a sharp backlash from politicians close to Macron — among them former Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne, the Minister of Education, and the Minister for Ecological Transition Agnès Pannier-Runacher.

According to the newspaper, Retailleau, who heads the centre-right party The Republicans, is not part of the president’s political circle and has repeatedly criticised Macron’s actions in recent months. Members of the government reacted negatively to his attacks, particularly in light of the difficult security situation in the country.

By Vugar Khalilov