From midnight on June 7, no candidate will have the right to speak and the media will no longer be able to talk about the electoral campaign for the European elections. This is called the reserve period. The opportunity to take stock of this campaign.
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First lesson of this campaign: the National Rally succeeded in imposing its tempo. It’s simple, the number 1 place never seemed to escape Jordan Bardella in the polls. The head of the RN list has peaked around 32, 33 or even 34% of voting intentions for many weeks.
This is twice as much as the list of Valérie Hayer, from the presidential camp, which nevertheless arrived just behind the far right five years ago. As a result, the National Rally managed to impose its themes in the debate, purchasing power and immigration, forcing the other candidates to position themselves.
Read alsoEuropean elections in France: a campaign dominated by national issues
No risk-taking for Jordan Bardella
The campaign was vampirized by national issues. And this is exactly what the National Rally wanted, which wants to make this election a referendum for or against the policy led by Emmanuel Macron.
But it’s a sham campaign for the head of the National Rally. Jordan Bardella first chose the media in which he spoke. For a time, he shunned questions from journalists to finally campaign like all the others, but without a real program, in any case without a flagship measure, or anything new compared to what the RN proposed five years ago.
The candidate was in control, trying to avoid the slightest misstep, trying to hide the inadequacies, even the inconsistencies, of his program. But nothing and no one will have succeeded in making him waver in the polls. Not even Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, who was very offensive in his debate with Jordan Bardella last month.
Read alsoEuropean elections in France: lively debate between Gabriel Attal and Jordan Bardella
François-Xavier Bellamy wets his shirt
The candidate of the Les Républicains party, François-Xavier Bellamy, for his part, multiplied the outbursts in this campaign: in front of Science-Po Paris, occupied by pro-Palestinian students, where the outgoing European deputy had an altercation, which was widely reported by those close to him, with the rebellious deputy Louis Boyard; on the public service sets where he used his speaking time to denounce in quick succession the holding of the Bardella-Attal debate and the Prime Minister’s incursion on set, in the middle of an interview, with Valérie Hayer. It was last week. But will that be enough for the LR list to exceed 5% on Sunday? The right is once again playing for its survival in this election.
Read alsoEuropeans: François-Xavier Bellamy and his program to bring LR into existence between the majority and the RN
On the left, a real dynamic for Raphaël Glucksmann
Raphaël Glucksmann, the PS-Place publique candidate, has been constantly progressing in the polls even if the phenomenon has slowed down a little in recent days. Will her list manage to surpass that of Valérie Hayer on Sunday?
The symbol would be devastating for the presidential camp. But also for the Insoumis, in the midst of a struggle for influence with the socialists within the Nupes, the alliance on the left. The Melenchonist troops have also accused Raphaël Glucksmann throughout this campaign of being a supporter of the Israeli government.
This is another lesson from this campaign: the rebels have bet a lot on their fight against the Israeli operation in Gaza, with happening at the National Assembly and Palestinian flags brandished in the hemicycle.
Read alsoEuropean elections: rebellious France wants to mobilize on the conflict in Gaza, whatever the cost
Emmanuel Macron in ambush
With the Landing ceremonies on the one hand, and his television interview last night on the other, the President of the Republic intervenes directly in the last hours of this campaign, openly pointing out the risks of a good score for the National Rally. He will appear again this evening, at the Élysée, alongside Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president.
Will he make new announcements, a few hours before the start of the reserve period? “ Political instrumentalization », denounce the oppositions. In any case, this looks like a last minute rescue operation in a campaign where the majority will have had great difficulty printing.
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Read alsoEuropean elections: “When Emmanuel Macron intervenes in the campaign, it is counterproductive”