Emmanuel Macron has a secret bunker in the Paris region that could be used if protesters storm the Élysée Palace. The claim was published by The Daily Telegraph, which cited the book “The New Shadow Army” by journalists Pierre Gastineau, Antoine Izambard and Franck Renaud.
According to the book, the shelter is part of plans to evacuate the president in the event of serious civil unrest. Consideration of such scenarios was reportedly accelerated after the Yellow Vest protests in 2018, when Macron was attacked by demonstrators during a visit to Le Puy-en-Velay. One of the authors told France Inter: “The government was trembling at the time.”
Scenarios after the 2027 election
The journalists describe preparations by French agencies for possible unrest after the presidential election in 2027. According to them, the authorities fear that a victory by Marine Le Pen’s National Rally could trigger a new wave of protests if radical left-wing groups, young people from the suburbs and activists from rural areas refuse to accept the result.
The book also examines the opposite scenario. According to the authors, a victory by Jean-Luc Mélenchon could lead to “passive resistance” within the police and other state structures. La Dépêche du Midi reports that the preparations included discussions of protests, cyberattacks, challenges to the election result and even an armed uprising.
Plans for the army and a secret fund
According to The Daily Telegraph’s report, Paris police chief Patrice Faure held a series of meetings to prepare for a possible uprising.
The authors also claim that special forces had examined the possibility of deploying troops to support the police and gendarmerie in the event of armed resistance. France’s foreign intelligence service, meanwhile, had simulated scenarios involving interference in the electoral process, while Paris police had trained to operate without encrypted smartphones in the event of a large-scale cyberattack.
The book also describes the possible revival of secret resistance networks established during the Cold War. According to the authors, they were linked to a secret fund belonging to French intelligence, which was used to finance resistance in the event of a possible collapse of the state. According to the report, its assets included properties in Saigon, Morocco and the Caribbean.
Sources: aol.com, noticias.uol.com.br, ladepeche.fr