Macron's new "grand debate," Attal's conspicuous absences... The Figaro's inside scoop

Emmanuel Macron has found a topic to occupy him in the coming weeks, as he tries to stay out of the heated budget debate: the regulation of social media and algorithms, seen as threats to democracy. On Tuesday, the president convened around 200 experts at the Élysée Palace to call on them to " resist ." On Wednesday, he met more discreetly with the heads of regional daily newspaper groups, who voiced their concerns about the threat to their business model posed by digital giants. It is precisely this regional press that Emmanuel Macron intends to rely on in the coming weeks to bring this issue into the public debate. The head of state plans to launch a series of discussions with regional newspaper readers on this topic. A kind of " tour of France ," says a close associate, to raise public awareness , given the president's long-standing concern about information manipulation and interference.