The war metaphor
“We are at war”
, repeated Emmanuel Macron in his speech on March 16, which announced the confinement. Necessary ? Yes, answers political scientist Bruno Cautrès. These words created a climate and allowed an acceleration of public awareness, which was necessary. You had to embody the urgency, with a dramatic vocabulary
.
The opinion, moreover, was grateful to him. There was, immediately, a reflex of national union,
found Gaël Sliman, who heads the polling institute Odoxa. His speech prompted the French to comply with confinement and barrier measures and “at the same time” politically “benefited” Emmanuel Macron by allowing him to restore his public image.
It was like a bowling strike. Public opinion has judged Macron to have the right tone, that he is taking the right steps. That said, this moment did not last …
Pay attention to the grandiloquence
, also tempers Bruno Cautrès. When we talk about a state of war, we expect to be prepared to respond
. However, the means, and in particular the masks, have proved to be insufficient ”. Overplay is a bit of a syndrome of our national policy. Macron is not de Gaulle nor Churchill. Everyone must stay in their time
.
The mess on the masks
Wearing a mask is not necessary
and may even turn out counter productive
Government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye has said on several occasions that it is actually masking a major problem: the shortage of masks. Since, the government has turned around and now believes that can wear it
.
But public opinion was not fooled. Very early, she felt that she was not being told the truth, Gaël Sliman found in the polls. This message about the masks was harmful and public opinion turned around, now judging that the government was not doing the right thing in the face of the epidemic. That said, it’s an almost systematic problem among our rulers: denial. He very often leads them to refute the obvious and suddenly turn public opinion. “
This illustrates a government communications boondoggle
which lasted the first weeks, abounds Bruno Cautrès.
The word of the experts
Since then, communication has been more coherent, more precise, transparent. It mainly involves experts. This is a technical file. Gave the floor to specialists, who know what they are talking about. It’s pretty good
, believes the political scientist.
The daily press conference of the Director General of Health, Jérôme Salomon is a major communication tool for the government. It’s very effective, says Gaël Sliman. Transparent, professional, assuming not to know everything, especially about chloroquine. It’s reassuring for the public. “
There is a real pedagogy which embodies the sense of the State, of serious public power, which delivers clear information
, also salutes Bruno Cautrès.
The deconfinement?
Was it too early to speak, as Edouard Philippe did on Thursday, of deconfinement? The subject reacted to caregivers who found it completely premature to approach the subject. Because they see people dying in hospitals every day, says Gaël Sliman. But Edouard Philippe, evoking a progressive deconfinement, especially prepared the opinion for the idea that the confinement was going to last, that it would be extended beyond April 15. In this, it was not unreasonable, from my point of view, to prepare the ground
.
A desire for authority
Containment measures have a very strong impact on individual freedoms. But the government knows, by taking these steps, that the majority of the public supports it. She is even asking for more restrictions, says political scientist Gaël Sliman. Two thirds of the French are for example in favor of the ban on jogging! There is very strong pressure to curtail public freedoms when it comes to security issues and therefore collective fears. We can understand that the intellectuals worry about it
.
A “profitable” crisis?
Will this crisis be “profitable” for politicians? All major distressing events – wars, attacks, financial or health crises (dead from the heat wave, H1N1, H5N1 …) – always generate a peak in popularity of the rulers at the time, says Gaël Sliman. There is a reflex of national cohesion. But more often than not, it doesn’t last. There it’s different. Everyone will have feared for their health, some will have been touched in their flesh, and everyone is impacted in their daily life. If after the fact, we have the feeling that, overall, the right decisions have been taken, this will necessarily serve politically for Emmanuel Macron, including for his re-election. But conversely, if it turns out that bad decisions have been taken on the health front, as the former Minister of Health herself indicated, then the Covid-19 crisis will strike ‘political future of the president’.
The French will undoubtedly credit the power of the State, the public authorities, the prefects who fulfill their role, the hospitals which fight, the implementation of partial unemployment, the police officers who make respect containment etc, estimates, Bruno Cautrès. On the other hand, politically, it is difficult to see clearly. I am not sure that the political voice will emerge from this crisis. I’m afraid it’s complicated, there are big thorns. Hospitals had been struggling for two years to ask for more resources. We see the situation today …
– .
