Me, Trump, God and the others

He welcomes you with a thunderous ” Good morning ! » in this French that he loves so much. Two and a half years after having pitifully left 10 Downing Street, Boris Johnson is back as himself: affable, funny, with this I-don't-give-a-fuck attitude – especially hair – too studied to be completely authentic. At age 60, he published — (Stock). A sum of more than 700 pages where he retraces “the history of Great Britain of the last fifteen years”, extols his theory of “levelling up” and still justifies Brexit.

More than memoirs, he considers his work as a “come with me” that can be used by all leaders. We took advantage of his visit to Paris to ask him his opinion on those who are still in place. But also what he thought of himself, of Churchill or of God…

53% of French people for a motion of censure

THE TRIBUNE SUNDAY — Emmanuel Macron

BORIS JOHNSON— I had a very good relationship with him. He's a great guy. He loves the UK, that’s obvious. Moreover, he was first a London banker. But he is angry about Brexit. Since then, he has locked us in a fridge. I want to ask him: “Emmanuel, when are you going to open the door of this fridge for us? » Together, we have already done extraordinary things, like Concorde. What's the next step?

Michel Barnier

I like it very much. He is very straight, correct. Really good guy. And he's a top negotiator. During the Brexit negotiations he was tough. But so were my teams. There was great mutual respect. I don't really want to comment on his action as Prime Minister in France. But our countries, France and Great Britain, must find a way to restrict public spending. In our democracies, there is always anger when budgets are cut. So you need someone, like Michel, with the skills to do it.

Marine Le Pen

I don't know what to say about her, I've never met her. I don't know the history of the RN either. Logic would dictate that she would one day be president of France. But, honestly, I don't think the France I know and love is ready to vote for extremism, whatever its form.

Donald Trump

He is very different from Le Pen. This guy was a Democrat for a very long time, a real estate developer too. I really think he's a very warm, very fun person. He was the Night King for years. His ideal world is Studio 54 [night-club new-yorkais légendaire] in the 1980s with Blondie, Jackie Onassis. That's his world! He was never far right and still is not today. He is disruptive, he is a disruptor, which is rather a quality. I don't agree with everything he wants to do, especially customs taxes. I am even more opposed to revising the abortion policy. But with Trump, you have to pay attention to what he does, not what he says. As president, he was much better than people say.

United States: Elon Musk joins Donald Trump's team

Elon Musk

What an incredible guy! I've never seen anyone like him in my entire life. He has a reputation for being able to almost immediately fix technical problems on his rockets, on his electric vehicles, on artificial intelligence, and at the same time be the CEO of his company. Are there other people capable of doing the same? I don't think so. I don't think it's as extreme as people say. Above all, he is impatient. He too is a troublemaker. About X [ex-Twitter]I have the impression that he above all wants to defend freedom of expression, which he considers restricted today. And he's not wrong.

Vladimir Putin

I don't like it. I only met him once, we had a very long conversation. He had been very kind, moreover. But he did terrible things and he didn't have to. He has caused unimaginable suffering to the world. And that makes me angry. Let's hope that Donald Trump will manage to resolve the situation. Maybe with his flair, his imagination, he will get there. But I remain very worried.

Volodymyr Zelensky

A wonderful man! His country would be a slave state today if he had not shown so much courage. He's a hero.

War in Ukraine: maximum alert on “significant” air attack

Keir Starmer

I shouldn't attack him, but he makes serious mistakes. He increases taxes, attacks farmers. As soon as they came to power, Labor increased train drivers' wages by 15% [hausse étalée sur trois ans]by 20% those of young doctors [sur plusieurs années là aussi]. Then they announced that they had to raise taxes. Exactly what you shouldn't do. Taxpayers can no longer take care of everything, otherwise the economy will no longer grow and we will stifle the hope of our children.

Brexit

Even today, I think it was the best thing to do for us. So, yes, there are still issues to resolve, like these migrant boats coming from France and angering the British. But I want to say to the French: don't underestimate the love the British have for you. Brexit was ultimately a very narrow constitutional question about the country's democracy and governance. It should not be confused with our feelings towards Europe. Yet people continue to make this confusion.

Winston Churchill

It's very difficult to talk about it. If I had him in front of me, I would have so many things to say to him. Much more than all those I just talked about. I wrote a biography of him. I will simply say that he was an absolutely extraordinary man.

Joe Strummer (singer of the Clash, one of his favorite bands)

He was brilliant. He was more of a conservative. He lived in Somerset. I spoke to him before he died. We had a conversation about a Labor bill to abolish fox hunting. He was opposed to it, he was a defender of hunting. In any case, he was a true genius.

Boris Johnson at 10

I was a very strange child, very quiet. I didn't hear much, or rather I pretended not to hear to pretend I didn't know what my mother was telling me. But who was I really at 10 years old? I don't know. I find this subject intimidating.

London refuses to open a breach in Brexit for youth mobility

Boris Johnson today

I have a wonderful life, I am truly happy. I bought a house in Oxfordshire. A superb place with moats, a swimming pool. Getting back into politics is not my goal. Your desires, your ambition must not be slaves to politics. There is something else to life, really. Today I just want to be helpful.

Boris Johnson at 80

I wish I could say to my avatar of the future: “Don’t stop! » Reaching 120 is my goal, or even 122. So I would say to myself: “Continue the push-ups and squats!” »

God

I would ask him three things: What do you say about suffering? I think I know the answer, but I would like to know his version. Why are humanity and the planet following such a trajectory? Finally, what is the ontological proof of your existence? This is what I would like to know.