Political upheaval, backstabbing, and turbulence: Macron incites a chaotic week in French politics
This week marked the wildest week France's right-wing has experienced in decades, turning the nation upside down.
The drama kicked off on Sunday night with a shocking victory for the far-right in European parliamentary elections, garnering approximately 40% of the vote in France. In response, President Emmanuel Macron decided to shake things up by announcing a sudden legislative election.
Macron justified his risky move by stating, "I don't want to hand the keys to the far right in 2027 (for France's next presidential election)," indicating his concern over the National Rally (Marine Le Pen's party) potentially becoming the ruling party, at least as the kingmaker of France's next government, and unseating Macron's own centrist bloc.
Following their success in the European polls, there's been much discussion about the National Rally possibly leading or at least influencing France's government in the future. Macron's safety as president remains until 2027, but he could face a government run by far-right ministers, causing unease.
However, the far right's victory has left the French political right in shambles, causing comedic results. In a matter of days, a political leader was barricaded within his headquarters, another was deserted by all but one of his newly elected lawmakers. The battle for the favor of the far right led to a wave of backstabbing.
Trapped with no way out
Fastforward to Tuesday, and Eric Ciotti, president of The Republicans (the long-standing main party on France's political right), made a surprising move by announcing a coalition with Le Pen's far-right party. His logic being, "The country has never been so right-wing. The country expects right-wing actions."
His fellow Republicans reacted harshly. Valerie Pecresse, another Republican, described his decision as, "Selling your soul for a plate of lentils and making it look like the country’s best interest."
Cries of "shame" rang out towards him from other past and present Republican colleagues online. After years within the traditional mainstream, which took pride in the "cordon sanitaire" (a tactical alliance aimed at protecting French power from the far right), The Republicans, now led by Ciotti, found themselves on the sidelines, winning only about 7% of the vote.
With the far right on the rise, Ciotti saw a path to relevance. His party disagreed.
In the backlash over his "deal with the devil" (as the French President termed it), party figures called for his excommunication from the party.
Ciotti refused to back down. He locked himself inside the party's headquarters in an attempt to prevent them from taking action.
Upon the scene stormed party leaders, most memorably the president of the Paris area’s regional council, who rolled up her sleeves amid a swarm of journalists as she approached Ciotti's stronghold.
Meanwhile, French social media lit up with memes depicting SWAT teams or hostage negotiators evacuating Ciotti.
The reality was less dramatic: His colleagues found backup keys to unlock the door.
By Wednesday evening, Ciotti had been ousted from the party, with its secretary general denouncing the "unholy alliance" with the far right, echoing Macron's own criticism.
However, the now supposedly former party leader, Ciotti, stood firm. He issued a press statement on behalf of The Republicans condemning the leadership meeting as illegitimate and "with no legal standing."
"I am and remain the president of our political formation, elected by our members," he posted on X, formerly Twitter.
On Thursday morning, he shared a video of himself sitting at his desk, accompanied by a dramatic film-like soundtrack, an outright rejection of his ousting from the party.
This power struggle did the 21st century proud: The putschists apparently had control over the party's X account, while Ciotti loyalists controlled the Facebook account, causing both to publish conflicting statements about the party's leadership.
Vindication for Ciotti came on Friday, as a French court ruled his expulsion as illegal.
"Justice has spoken," he said following the verdict, "she said you can't do whatever you want, you can't do DIY."
On the far side of right...
On the far-right side of the French political spectrum, chaos also reigned supreme, often playing out live on national TV screens.
Led by Le Pen's niece, Marion Marechal, and former TV pundit Eric Zemmour, the Reconquest party Dodged the coattails of National Rally, winning approximately 5% of the European parliamentary election vote in France. Established only in 2021, the party closely follows the National Rally.
Like Ciotti, eager to harness the popularity of the far right for government, Marechal has been working to form a formal partnership with her aunt's party since Sunday.
Zemmour seemed opposed, his disgust evident when she announced her plans during a live TV broadcast.
Apparently dissatisfied with her actions, she turned to a rebel maneuver, encouraging Reconquest supporters to vote for their far-right competitors.
"Let's prioritize France's interests over those of the party," she said on live TV.
Zemmour was outraged. Later that day, during an interview with BFMTV, he branded her a liar. "She's broken the world record for betrayal," he said.
Subsequently, he severed Marechal's ties to his party, declaring her, along with the newly elected three European lawmakers who supported her, exiled from the party. Now, Zemmour is left with a single member of the European Parliament, ostracized even within the far-right.
"Man, it's a bummer to weigh in on this internal drama at a time when our nation seems to be falling apart, with a glimmer of hope just around the corner," he expressed his displeasure on the recent events on X, formerly known as Twitter.
In his commentary on X, he elucidated his denial of Marechal's claims that he struck a deal with National Rally.
Right-wing divide in France?
This week's turmoil ended on Wednesday with one party severing ties with its leader after announcing a coalition and another leader being left with just a single European representative for failing to do the same.
With the legislative election scheduled for June 30, it remains uncertain how much this right-wing feud will impact the national results.
Indisputably, it seems to benefit Le Pen and Bardella's National Rally. They are currently the undisputed electoral powerhouse on the right and have managed to stay aloof from the controversy so far.
The very fact that Ciotti endorsed them, despite opposition from other members of his traditionalist party, signifies how far National Rally has moved into mainstream politics.
On the surface, National Rally's shift from extremist to popular choice, at least for a significant segment of French voters, appears to be a completed transformation.
As the French right disintegrates around them, a victory for Le Pen's party might just be the sweetest yet.
Reporter Julen Chavin provided insights for this article
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The far-right's victory in the European parliamentary elections has sparked discussions about their potential influence on France's government in the future, causing unease among Centrist leaders like Emmanuel Macron.
The political instability in France following the elections has even extended to Europe, as the victory of far-right parties has also been seen in other countries, further disrupting the balance of power on the world stage.
