French Republicans leader aims for partnership with Le Pen.
In France, there's no doubt that the National Assembly will be disbanded and replaced with newly elected members on June 30th. The Republican Party's leader, Eric Ciotti, is already working on an alliance - with Marine Le Pen from the Rassemblement National (RN). This move is seen as an insult by Le Pen, who appreciates Ciotti. However, he's facing a lot of resistance from within his own party.
The head of France's Conservatives has publicly endorsed an alliance with the right-wing RN, which emerged as the clear victor in the recent European elections. "We need to form an alliance with the RN and its representatives, while remaining who we are," said the chairman of the Republicans, Eric Ciotti, in an interview with TF1. "We're saying the same things, so let's stop creating unnecessary opposition," added Ciotti. His focus is on the upcoming elections for the National Assembly, scheduled for June 30th and July 7th.
Ciotti aims to secure enough seats in these elections to maintain a faction. The Republicans need some sort of alliance, and that's what he's offering the RN. Admitting that his party, which has been in decline for years, has no hope of winning against the presidential camp and the left-wing alliance on its own, Ciotti said he wants no RN candidates to run against Republican candidates in specific constituencies. "That's what the majority of people want," stressed the head of the Republicans.
In the current National Assembly, there are 61 Republicans and 88 RN representatives. Combined, they have fewer seats than the center-right bloc of President Emmanuel Macron, who holds 250 representatives. To achieve an absolute majority of 289 seats in the parliamentary lower house, more seats are needed. There's still uncertainty about how the balance will change in the upcoming election. If a faction other than Macron's wins the absolute majority, the president would be forced to appoint a prime minister from that group.
The alliance has been controversial for a long time
Marine Le Pen, the leader of the RN and its parliamentary group's head in the National Assembly, called Ciotti's decision "bold" and a "responsibility." Le Pen added that the "so-called 'Cordon Sanitaire,' which has cost us many elections for 40 years," is disappearing. She was referring to the fact that collaborating with right-wing populists has been forbidden for most parties in France for a long time.
The idea of a relationship with the RN has been contentious among the Republicans for a while now. More centrist LR politicians have already declared that they would not welcome such a development. After Ciotti's announcement, there were even calls for his resignation, such as from the LR faction leader in the National Assembly, Olivier Marleix. It's important to note that Ciotti only speaks for himself. Previously, the conservative regional president of Hauts-de-France, Xavier Bertrand, warned, "The DNA of the Republican Right has never been the extreme, never the Front National, never Marine Le Pen." Critics accuse Ciotti of eroding the distinction between the right and the far right for years.
The Republicans are a traditional party of the right-wing bourgeoisie, supporting business-friendly policies and strengthening internal security. Although there are some populist trends within the party, they see themselves as a fundamentally pro-European party.
Le Pen has attempted to make her party - the successor to her father Jean-Marie Le Pen's Front National (FN) - more polite and move slightly closer to the center in recent years. However, the party seeks less involvement from Brussels and a hostile stance on immigration.
In the recent European election, the RN experienced a landslide victory and became the top force. The party led by candidate Jordan Bardella received almost twice as many votes as Macron's list. French President Emmanuel Macron then disbanded the National Assembly and called for new elections. In a first poll after the European election, the RN was predicted to secure the most votes, but an absolute majority was beyond their grasp.
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In response to the RN's victory in the recent European elections, Eric Ciotti, the leader of the French Republicans, has proposed an alliance with Marine Le Pen's party. This move has been controversial within the Republicans, with some centrist LR politicians expressing opposition.
Despite the resistance, Ciotti believes that an alliance with the RN is necessary for the Republicans to secure enough seats in the upcoming National Assembly elections. His goal is to maintain a faction within the parliamentary lower house, acknowledging that his party has no hope of winning against the presidential camp and the left-wing alliance on its own.
