Ticket. Mine clearance is about to begin.

In France, it's better to be President than Prime Minister. The Élysée, whatever happens, always offers a little more horizon. And the problems, as everyone knows, are primarily for Matignon. François Bayrou understood this year that he will never be President and that he may soon no longer be Prime Minister. He didn't have a summer, due to budget preparation, and now Jean-Luc Mélenchon is promising him a nasty autumn. Clouds are darkening the sky and the winds are blowing hard. The day of blockades on September 10 supported by the left, the heated social back-to-school period, the LFI motion of censure... The man who wanted 44 billion in savings is on borrowed time, as is his government. And his press conference this Monday could even be his last.

After a dinner with Emmanuel Macron at Fort Brégançon, François Bayrou takes to the front lines to explain and, above all, defuse his austerity plan. Calling the French people to witness. Under pressure and alone, the exercise promises to be complicated. Once again. Heads of government are no longer architects but firefighters. Defusing mines, easing tensions, making concessions on public holidays, attacking politicians' privileges, negotiating with social partners, parties, and even with the National Rally (RN) as referee? The Himalayas are not a Pyrenean pass. What can Bayrou do when the die seems cast? Insist on the future? On a France without a budget, government, or majority? On the impending chaos? When LFI dreams of only one thing: seeing Emmanuel Macron resign.

By following through on his ideas and the need to reform an over-indebted state, the Prime Minister, in the absence of a return to office, could offer himself an exit "worthy of history." And a return to the Pau town hall, which he ultimately never left. Be careful, anything can still happen, even a budget vote if the Socialist Party or the National Rally decides to spare him. It's unbelievable that the Élysée is already looking for a replacement...