PARIS — A visibly angry Emmanuel Macron blasted his ministers during a defense cabinet meeting Wednesday after a botched release of a report into the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in France, according to a high-ranking government official.
A second official, who, like others quoted here, was granted anonymity to speak candidly, said the French president accused his ministers generally for not coming up with adequate solutions to counter the threat posed by the Islamist group.
The report into the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood was expected to be published on Wednesday, but its release was delayed by Macron’s office after the document was leaked to conservative media.
An early version of the report seen by POLITICO said that the Muslim Brotherhood had gone to great lengths to push its fundamentalist agenda across France and Europe.
Early polling indicates he could be a serious contender in the 2027 presidential election were he to run.
PARIS — Following the disastrous publication of a report on the influence of the Muslim Brotherhood in France, Emmanuel Macron furiously chastised his ministers during a defense cabinet meeting on Wednesday, a senior government official said.
The French president blamed his ministers in general for failing to provide sufficient answers to the threat posed by the Islamist organization, according to a second official who, like those cited here, was given anonymity to speak freely.
The French daily Le Parisien was the first to report on the dressing down, but it seems to be a jab at Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau.
The report on the Muslim Brotherhood’s influence was supposed to be released on Wednesday, but Macron’s office postponed it after it was leaked to conservative media. According to a preliminary draft of the report obtained by POLITICO, the Muslim Brotherhood had taken major steps to advance its fundamentalist agenda throughout Europe and France.
A hard-line conservative named Retailleau, whose popularity has soared since joining Macron’s minority government in September, has been blamed by many in the French government for the leak. Retailleau won a resounding victory on Sunday to take over as leader of Les Républicains, the center-right party that had previously dominated French politics but had been consigned to political oblivion following Macron’s election in 2017. If he were to run for president in 2027, early polling suggests he could be a serious contender.
Retailleau accused the Muslim Brotherhood of “trying to tip French society into Sharia law” in several interviews with French media in recent days, where he discussed the report. “”.
On Tuesday, a presidential aide attempted to minimize the interior ministry’s involvement in this matter by stating that Macron would chair meetings of the defense cabinet where all formal decisions would be made.
According to the government official who told POLITICO about the encounter, Macron seemed to be in a “mood swing” during that meeting.
Instead of the president, the official stated, “I don’t think he has grasped … that it’s the government that governs.”.
With Marine Le Pen of the far-right National Rally’s chances in ruins following her embezzlement conviction, the squabbling is another indication that the focus of those in power has shifted from Macron to the very open presidential election that will occur in less than two years. She has maintained her innocence on numerous occasions, and if an appeals court finds in her favor next year, she might be permitted to run.
Party president and her likely successor, Jordan Bardella, stated that he is prepared to take over if she is unable to run, but he is not very experienced.
Ahead of the presidential election, there is already a lot of conjecture in political circles about when Retailleau will formally leave the government to separate from Macron and create his own platform.
For Prime Minister François Bayrou’s fragile government, losing Retailleau could be disastrous. Despite not having a majority and ongoing internal strife, the longtime centrist and Macron ally has managed to hold his government together, even though it is becoming more and more stressed.
