The new political movement set up by France's reform-minded Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron got an icy welcome from senior members of his Socialist Party on Thursday.
Macron, a 38-year-old former banker, announced on Wednesday he was setting up "En Marche" ("On the Move"), fuelling speculation that he has presidential ambitions.
The man often dubbed the "rock star" of French politics said he wanted to create "a new political movement, one that will be neither on the right or the left".
Prime Minister Manuel Valls poured scorn on the initiative from his cabinet colleague, saying it was "absurd" to try to scrap the differences between left and right.
"There are obviously political forces. There is even a left and even a right... and that's a good thing, that's how our democracy functions," Valls said.
"It would be absurd to want to remove those differences."
He said the Socialists needed to pull together, with just over a year to go until the presidential election.
"We must be capable of overcoming this partisan divisions and put ourselves above little quarrels," Valls said.
Macron's initiative also got a guarded response from the first secretary of the Socialist Party, Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, with whom he has often clashed.
"If he helps to widen the majority (for the Socialists), then his contribution is positive," he said Thursday.
But if he wanted to move the Socialists more to the right, "then he is on the wrong track," Cambadelis added.
Hollande sounded unconcerned about the move from the man he brought into government two years ago, telling reporters at a summit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday: "If a minister wants to have a dialogue with the people, that's called politics."
- 'Clear vision' -
While insisting that the 2017 presidential election is "not my priority today", Macron pointedly did not throw his support behind Hollande, who is likely to seek re-election despite approval ratings that are currently among the lowest ever for a post-war French leader.
"Whoever it is in 2017, if we do not clearly set out a vision for the country, if there is not an open debate, then he or she will not succeed," Macron said at the launch event in his home town of Amiens in northern France.
Jean-Pierre Raffarin, a former centre-right prime minister, said this week he could imagine Macron as premier under a centre-right president such as Alain Juppe, who is vying to be the right's candidate for the 2017 election.
"The best prime minister for a president from the moderate right would be Emmanuel Macron," Raffarin said.
The new movement Thursday confirmed reports that it would be based in the Paris offices of a think-tank with close links to business leaders.
Macron has cut against the grain of French politics since Hollande appointed his former economic advisor a minister in 2014 when he was a virtual unknown.
In a country famously adverse to change, the former Rothschild banker and graduate of the elite ENA school has forced through pro-business reforms, for example increasing the number of Sundays on which shops can open.
He attributes France's 10-percent unemployment rate to "a lack of competitiveness" and the lack of "mobility" in society.
That approach and his criticism of Socialist party stalwarts over their attachment to the 35-hour working week has made him one of France's most popular politicians but has also brought demonstrators on to the streets in protest at his reforms.
But Macron is also more socially liberal than Valls.
He was opposed to the government's ill-fated efforts to strip convicted terrorists of French nationality in the wake of the November attacks in Paris that killed 130 people.
In an embarrassing about-turn, Hollande was forced to abandon the proposed measure last week when the two houses of parliament failed to reach agreement.
The fresh-faced economy minister's private life also fascinates the French.
His met his wife Brigitte, who is nearly 20 years his senior, at his high school where she was a teacher.
The new political movement set up by France’s reform-minded Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron got an icy welcome from senior members of his Socialist Party on Thursday.
Macron, a 38-year-old former banker, announced on Wednesday he was setting up “En Marche” (“On the Move”), fuelling speculation that he has presidential ambitions.
The man often dubbed the “rock star” of French politics said he wanted to create “a new political movement, one that will be neither on the right or the left”.
Prime Minister Manuel Valls poured scorn on the initiative from his cabinet colleague, saying it was “absurd” to try to scrap the differences between left and right.
“There are obviously political forces. There is even a left and even a right… and that’s a good thing, that’s how our democracy functions,” Valls said.
“It would be absurd to want to remove those differences.”
He said the Socialists needed to pull together, with just over a year to go until the presidential election.
“We must be capable of overcoming this partisan divisions and put ourselves above little quarrels,” Valls said.
Macron’s initiative also got a guarded response from the first secretary of the Socialist Party, Jean-Christophe Cambadelis, with whom he has often clashed.
“If he helps to widen the majority (for the Socialists), then his contribution is positive,” he said Thursday.
But if he wanted to move the Socialists more to the right, “then he is on the wrong track,” Cambadelis added.
Hollande sounded unconcerned about the move from the man he brought into government two years ago, telling reporters at a summit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday: “If a minister wants to have a dialogue with the people, that’s called politics.”
– ‘Clear vision’ –
While insisting that the 2017 presidential election is “not my priority today”, Macron pointedly did not throw his support behind Hollande, who is likely to seek re-election despite approval ratings that are currently among the lowest ever for a post-war French leader.
“Whoever it is in 2017, if we do not clearly set out a vision for the country, if there is not an open debate, then he or she will not succeed,” Macron said at the launch event in his home town of Amiens in northern France.
Jean-Pierre Raffarin, a former centre-right prime minister, said this week he could imagine Macron as premier under a centre-right president such as Alain Juppe, who is vying to be the right’s candidate for the 2017 election.
“The best prime minister for a president from the moderate right would be Emmanuel Macron,” Raffarin said.
The new movement Thursday confirmed reports that it would be based in the Paris offices of a think-tank with close links to business leaders.
Macron has cut against the grain of French politics since Hollande appointed his former economic advisor a minister in 2014 when he was a virtual unknown.
In a country famously adverse to change, the former Rothschild banker and graduate of the elite ENA school has forced through pro-business reforms, for example increasing the number of Sundays on which shops can open.
He attributes France’s 10-percent unemployment rate to “a lack of competitiveness” and the lack of “mobility” in society.
That approach and his criticism of Socialist party stalwarts over their attachment to the 35-hour working week has made him one of France’s most popular politicians but has also brought demonstrators on to the streets in protest at his reforms.
But Macron is also more socially liberal than Valls.
He was opposed to the government’s ill-fated efforts to strip convicted terrorists of French nationality in the wake of the November attacks in Paris that killed 130 people.
In an embarrassing about-turn, Hollande was forced to abandon the proposed measure last week when the two houses of parliament failed to reach agreement.
The fresh-faced economy minister’s private life also fascinates the French.
His met his wife Brigitte, who is nearly 20 years his senior, at his high school where she was a teacher.
