By accepting the outstretched hand of the National Rally (RN), Eric Ciotti alienated his entire political family. At the microphone of BFM TV, Senator LR Agnès Evren assured that the president of the Republicans would be dismissed “at 3 p.m.” during the meeting of the political bureau of the heir of the Gaullist party, according to the established formula. The outgoing deputy from the Alpes-Maritime, who closed his party headquarters at the end of the morning, can perhaps console himself by seeing that his political coup is making the front page of the Guardian (center left) this Wednesday, June 12.
“The leader of the Republicans wants an alliance with the National Rally, the French far-right party,” is the headline in the British daily. Proof that the earthquake caused by the former quaestor of the Palais Bourbon goes far beyond the borders of France. “The firewall is collapsing in France”, summarizes the German magazine Der Spiegel (center left). A poker move adding to that of Emmanuel Macron, who dissolved the National Assembly the day after the European elections, but which in no way surprises our transalpine neighbors.
“Too identitarian and anti-immigration to truly represent the Gaullist heritage of the party, too fascinated by Italy and its union of the rights, too ambitious to pass up the chance to win the next elections and perhaps a ministry of weight” , escapes everyday life Corriere della Sera (center right) recalling that Eric Ciotti is “the first leader [NDLR : de droite] to break the anti-Le Pen ‘sanitary cordon'”. A notion introduced by Jacques Chirac in the 1980s to signify his firm opposition to any alliance with the National Front of the time, notes the German television news Tagesschau.
Ciotti, breaking with the heritage of his party
Beyond Quiévrain, La Libre Belgique (right) underlines in particular that an agreement between the party created by Jacques Chirac in 1976 and that of Jean-Marie Le Pen would be “the first of this kind in France between the classic right, heir to Gaullism, and the extreme right, heir to a party founded by neo-Nazis. By embarking on this path, the until now president of the Republicans is undeniably departing from the guideline which has shaped the history of his political family. Thus, the Swiss The weather (center, liberal) he headlines: “Eric Ciotti (…) gives a ‘slap to the past’ of his party.”
And causes, if not its disappearance, at least its dispersion. “The decision, announced by its president, causes an earthquake within the party and places it on the verge of collapse,” the Spanish daily warns El Mundo (center-right, liberal). In concert with the Corriere della Sera, who accuses Eric Ciotti of having recorded “the division of the party and provoked a probable split”. A boon for the RN, which would emerge strong from a double victory. First, expand your circle to the right.
A dubbing of the RN?
Secondly, to take the final step in its de-demonization project, by attaching to its locomotive a political group which counts among its ancestors no less than three Presidents of the Republic.
“Le Pen, with this process of normalization of his political discourse, managed to convince Eric Ciotti that the rest [NDLR : les partis de gauche] represented a greater threat to the country,” concludes El Mundo (Center-right). While qualifying the scope of an initiative defined this Tuesday by many Les Républicains executives as “personal”. “The rest of the leaders of the political family are totally opposed to it,” specifies the Spanish newspaper.
Tagesschau thus paints the portrait of a period of change, where uncertainty reigns supreme. “The French conservatives are facing a test of truth. The central question: should they conclude an electoral alliance with the far right of the National Rally, ask our colleagues across the Rhine. And to add: “Eric Ciotti agrees (…) to break a taboo”. And while the answer to the question “how many will follow him?” seems to have been given, we can now wonder under what label Eric Ciotti will make his re-entry into the hemicycle.