PARIS: France’s new Prime Minister Edouard Philippe is a low-profile 46-year-old from the right-wing Republicans party whose politics and interests mirror those of centrist President Emmanuel Macron.
As well as being of similar age, both come from provincial France but followed a classic route through the elite universities Sciences Po and ENA, then public service in Paris and on to politics.
Both have also worked briefly in the private sector: Philippe in a law firm and then as a lobbyist for state nuclear group Areva, while Macron was once an investment banker.
And both count well-connected political adviser and writer Jacques Attali as well as late Socialist prime minister Michel Rocard as influences during their ascent through French political life.
But whereas Macron considers himself left-leaning and got his break under Socialist President Francois Hollande, the bearded Philippe has worked his way up internally through the conservative Republicans party.
The mayor of his hometown since 2010, the gritty northern port of Le Havre, Philippe was first elected to parliament in 2012 as a Republicans MP for his Seine-Maritime area.
The son of two teachers is a longtime ally of ex-prime minister Alain Juppe, the veteran centrist whom he backed as a candidate for the Republicans’ nomination for this year’s election.
“He has the advantage of being completely unknown to the average French person,” said olitical analyst Chloe Morin of the Jean-Jaures Foundation, a left-leaning think-tank.
Macron, who won the presidential election on May 7, came to power promising to renew French politics and bring in fresh faces.
As well as their similarities in outlook and experience, Philippe’s political positioning is crucial to understanding why France’s youngest president has plucked him from relative obscurity.
Macron is hoping to attract other young, centrist allies in the Republicans to his new Republique En Marche party (Republic on the Move, REM), and his choice will perhaps entice others to cross over.
Speaking last Thursday, Philippe encouraged Macron to “transgress” by naming someone from outside his party which he hinted would encourage some of his colleagues to join the REM.
Macron wants to win a parliamentary majority in June elections with the REM, which he hopes will redraw the political landscape, ending the grip on power of the traditional forces of left and right, the Socialists and Republicans.
Philippe is sporty, multi-lingual and known to be an intellectual, but is also seen by some critics as aloof or even arrogant.
“Intelligent, lively and at times a bit crazy,” one insider who worked with him in the Republicans party said, adding that he had a tendency to be “brusque” with colleagues.
“He’s not easy to get to know,” a local politician in his native Normandy region also said on condition of anonymity, adding that Philippe “doesn’t have massive warmth” despite having many qualities.
A book last year on Juppe by journalist Gael Tchakaloff was brutal, describing Philippe as having “arrogance, an excess of self-confidence and ambitions beyond all proportion.”
The new prime minister is also a keen amateur boxer, has written two crime thrillers, and has a strong interest in war-time British prime minister Winston Churchill.
And his impersonations of senior politicians such as ex-presidents Valery Giscard d’Estaing, Jacques Chirac or Nicolas Sarkozy are admired by colleagues and friends alike.
He is married, has three children and speaks German, which could come in handy as Macron seeks to persuade Berlin to join his ambitious efforts to “reform and relaunch” the European Union.
In Le Havre, an important port for container ships on the Channel coast, he has organized an international conference called Positive Economy Forum since 2012.
Inviting activists, economists and business executives, it tackles many of the themes that were central to Macron’s election such as how to modernize France to increase economic growth while respecting workers and the environment.
Edouard Philippe: France’s little-known new PM
Edouard Philippe: France’s little-known new PM
Starting anew: Indonesians in disaster-struck Sumatra hold Christmas mass
- Many in the congregation are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the disaster wreaked havoc on the island four weeks ago
SOUTH TAPANULI: At a church in Sumatra, dozens of worshippers sang hymns at a Christmas mass, gathered together for their first service since deadly floods swept the Indonesian island.
The Angkola Protestant Church, in the hard-hit South Tapanuli district, was festooned on Wednesday with balloons and simple Christmas decorations.
Outside, the street leading to the building was buried under mounds of debris and foliage.
Many in the congregation are still sheltering at evacuation sites after the disaster wreaked havoc on the island four weeks ago.
Churchgoer Krismanto Nainggolan said this year’s Christmas service was “different,” even as he noted joy in the bittersweet moment.
“The feelings are mixed. Every word of the pastor’s sermon made us want to cry,” he told AFP after the Christmas mass.
“But the spirit of Christmas... gave us strength,” he added.
Krismanto lost his house in the flooding, while many of his neighbors were killed.
According to the National Disaster Mitigation Agency, 1,129 people died, and more than 170 others are still missing.
While the annual monsoon season often brings heavy rain to Indonesia, this month’s deluge was among the worst disasters to strike Sumatra since a magnitude-9.1 earthquake triggered a massive tsunami in 2004.
In South Tapanuli, churchgoer Mea Rosmawati Zebua said she had not expected to be able to celebrate Christmas this year.
“In past years, Christmas was a routine. Now, (we are) very grateful because God still gives us the breath of life,” the 54-year-old told AFP.
While Christmas mass is typically held in the evening, the Angkola church moved its service to Wednesday afternoon ahead of rain forecast in the evening, pastor Yansen Roberto Ritonga said.
To prepare for the first service since the disaster, the church had to remove towering heaps of mud that had been washed inside.
Soldiers and police had helped clear the debris and driftwood.
On Wednesday afternoon, a man rang the church’s bell before the pastor’s entrance, marking the start of the mass.
Around 30 worshippers, each of them holding a lit candle, sung Christmas hymns.
Yansen said this year’s Christmas served as a moment of “reflection” for the congregation.
Churchgoer Krismanto said that despite the widespread damage and the personal cost of the disaster, he chose to see it as a new beginning.
“Our hopes depend solely on God because we are now starting over... our lives are starting anew,” he said.
