(Paris) Fractures on the right, debates on union on the left, extreme right in force: the earthquake caused in France by the dissolution of the Assembly continues to cause tremors on Thursday, 17 days before legislative elections which could particularly affect the Cape diplomatic of the country.
After its debacle in the European elections on Sunday, President Emmanuel Macron’s camp is trying to present the vote of June 30 and July 7 as a “social choice” between the progressive bloc that he would embody and the “extremes” on the left and right which “fuel division”, summarized Prime Minister Gabriel Attal on Thursday on France Inter radio.
Since the electoral triumph of the National Rally (RN, far right) which topped the poll with 31.3% of the votes and the poker move of dissolution attempted by Emmanuel Macron, the political recomposition in France has accelerated rapidly, sometimes turning into chaos.
Gaping fractures have opened within the right-wing opposition. Disowned by his troops for having proposed an unprecedented alliance with the RN, Eric Ciotti was ousted on Wednesday from the head of the main conservative party, the Republicans (LR), but refuses to leave his post.
On Wednesday, he went so far as to lock the access to the party HQ to deny access to the rebels who came to dismiss him and went there on Thursday, a sign that he refuses to lay down his arms. “I know that I have the confidence of the activists,” he proclaimed on the CNews channel.
The crisis also dislocated the small far-right Reconquête party, which had nevertheless managed to send its first MEPs to Strasbourg on Sunday. Its founder, the multi-convicted polemicist Eric Zemmour, excluded Marion Maréchal – niece of the leading figure of the RN, Marine Le Pen – from the head of the European list after she called for a vote for the competing RN.
Far from these dissensions, the French left achieved the feat of forming an alliance for the legislative elections in a few days after being divided during the European battle. It remains to agree on a common leader.
The four main left-wing parties, La France insoumise (LFI, radical left), the Socialist Party, the Ecologists and the Communist Party (PCF) have agreed to share almost all of the 577 constituencies and come together under the banner of “Popular Front”, a name which refers to the coalition formed in France in 1936, famous in particular for having introduced the first paid leave in the country.
Substantive differences remain, however, and the question of the identity of who would become prime minister in the event of a left-wing victory on the evening of July 7 remains unanswered.
Former presidential candidate, the impetuous leader of LFI (radical left) Jean-Luc Mélenchon said Wednesday evening that he was “capable” of leading the government, but his divisive personality is far from unanimous, particularly due to his ambiguous statements on anti-Semitism since the Hamas attacks of October 7.
“LFI completely violates socialist values,” Florence, a left-wing voter, told AFP, summarizing the feeling of “betrayal” felt by certain socialists faced with the idea of a union with Mr. Mélenchon’s party. Other PS sympathizers interviewed by AFP criticize the LFI leader for his “communitarianism”, his “violent remarks”, or even his “support for authoritarian regimes in China and Russia”.
In fact, LFI, like the RN, which is leading in the polls, is calling for profound changes in French diplomacy.
The far-right party, accused of being close to Russia, is reluctant about aid to Ukraine and opposes any entry by Kyiv into the European Union or NATO. France Insoumise calls for leaving the integrated command of NATO, denouncing a systematic alignment with the United States.
Despite these uncertainties, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Thursday that he was convinced that France would remain a “solid and important” ally, whatever its next government.
“I expect France to remain a strong and important ally in the future,” Stoltenberg said in Brussels. “Experience shows that NATO allies have always managed to stay united, regardless of the different parties in power and the different majorities in parliaments,” he added.
