The head of the majority list in the 2024 European elections is still struggling to rise in the polls. The presidential camp has decided to resort to major means, even if it means relegating its candidate to the background?
Held in check by the far right in the poll results, the candidate of the presidential majority in the European elections still does not see the effects of her campaign less than a month before the election. Failing to be able to win, Valérie Hayer must save the furniture: impose herself more widely against Raphaël Glucksmann, the PS candidate – Place publique, who is hot on her heels and above all reduce the gap with Jordan Bardella, head of the Rassemblement list national, given with around fifteen points in advance.
Is the MEP able to minimize the damage predicted by the polls? If the head of the list appears optimistic, others within the presidential camp seem to have doubts. Starting with the head of state who gets involved in the campaign and brings out the majority’s arsenal: he pushed the Prime Minister to get involved and accept a debate with Jordan Bardella, the head’s main opponent. list Valérie Hayer. The confrontation should make it possible to weaken the Lepenist party, but does it not risk doing a disservice to the majority candidate?
While Valérie Hayer and Jordan Bardella have already debated face-to-face, this intervention by Gabriel Attal gives the impression of being organized to succeed where Valérie Hayer missed the opportunity to climb in the polls, despite an offensive well prepared against the far-right candidate. But the fact is that the debate between Attal and Bardella will erase that led by Valérie Hayer, even weaken the candidate. The representative of the socialist left Raphaël Glucksmann in the European elections has also expressed a form of concern for his opponent who finds himself “invisibilized and replaced by the Prime Minister who is not a candidate”, on the set of France 3 on May 12.
Macron and Attal are “assets” for Hayer
The head of the majority list who has already received presidential support several times in his campaign assured not to suffer from the interventions of Emmanuel Macron and Gabriel Attal at the microphone of RTL this Monday, May 13. On the contrary, she considers that she “needs the commitment of the entire presidential majority in these elections” and judges that the help of the Prime Ministers is a “chance” while Emmanuel Macron is an “asset” in this campaign. Because the Prime Minister is not the only one to take the risk of making the head of the majority list invisible: Emmanuel Macron could also take part in the debate during the European election campaign. The head of state has been considering organizing a confrontation with Marine Le Pen since the end of April, according to La Tribune Sundaybut nothing has been done yet.
It remains that if the objective of these debates is to support the candidate of the presidential majority, the challenge for Valérie Hayer is to continue to exist in this campaign and not to be relegated to second or third place. Because if she assures that the debate between Jordan Bardella and Gabriel Attal amounts to a confrontation between the Prime Minister and the president of the opposition party, it is indeed the outcome of the European elections which will be at stake… And the fight begins to elude him. As proof: Raphaël Glucksmann, who had a word for his opponent with whom he has sought to debate since the start of the campaign, is reviewing his objectives. The socialist candidate now wants to clash with the Prime Minister. Moreover, he has difficulty digesting having been “excluded” from the debate between Jordan Bardella and Gabriel Attal, reminding the latter that he is “touch-and-touch” with Valérie Hayer in the poll results.