Éric Ciotti announced on Tuesday his desire for an RN-LR alliance in the legislative elections. He had lunch with the president of the RN this Thursday, while his party met to confirm his exclusion.
The essential
- The president of the Republicans called on Tuesday for an agreement with the National Rally of Jordan Bardella for the legislative elections of June 30 and July 7. Éric Ciotti believed that his party was “too weak to oppose the two blocs which are the most dangerous”, namely the left and the Macronists.
- He then spoke with the president of the RN during a lunch this Thursday.
- This announcement from Eric Ciotti triggered strong reactions, particularly in the LR ranks. An exceptional LR political bureau then met on Wednesday afternoon and recorded the exclusion of the politician from the party. The latter assures that this decision has no legal consequences and that he therefore remains at the head of the political party. The party therefore decided to meet a second time to validate this decision.
- Wednesday evening, on CNews, Éric Ciotti affirmed that he would be a candidate for the legislative elections under the LR banner and that “around 80” LR candidates should be supported by the RN. A point contested by several figures from the right-wing party. According to François-Xavier Bellamy in particular, only two deputies decided to join the alliance with the RN: Éric Ciotti, himself, and Christelle D’Intorni, who was also offended Wednesday evening on was reinvested by LR.
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15:32 – Eric Ciotti’s legal appeal well received
According to Le Figaro, the Paris Judicial Court has just received “the request for interim relief on a fixed day” from Éric Ciotti. He thus intends to have the decisions of the party’s political office annulled by the courts. He rejects his dismissal as well as the fact of preventing him from freely accessing LR premises.
2:20 p.m. – François-Xavier Bellamy ready to vote for the RN?
François-Xavier Bellamy, who is opposed to rallying with the RN as Eric Ciotti wishes, however admitted for Europe 1 that if in the second round of the legislative elections, an RN candidate finds himself facing a candidate from the left of the “Popular Front “, he will “block La France insoumise and this alliance which threatens France”. The interim LR president obviously recalls that the priority is to support the LR candidates: “in many constituencies, we have the possibility of winning against Macronist candidates to get France out of this majority which is in the process of putting it in the wall, and against the extreme left.
12:19 – Eric Ciotti appears in his office
In a video published on sur X, Éric Ciotti appears in his office at the Republican headquarters. He shows himself sitting at his desk and taking out his phone. “At work for France,” he added in the caption.
12:04 – “It’s OSS 117”
Florence Portelli, vice-president of the Republicans, deplored the events of the old woman at the Republican headquarters. “When we barricade ourselves in a seat and we don’t know that the general secretary has double the keys, it’s quite worrying about her ability to manage the security problems of the French. It’s quite grotesque, it’s is from OSS 117 I apologize in advance for the people who are disgusted by politics, because we are still offering them a rather grotesque vaudeville and I obviously dissociate myself from such stupid gestures”, she said. declared on France Inter this Thursday. She believes that the MP is victimizing himself.
11:41 – Eric Ciotti appeared in his offices
Despite his exclusion from the party recorded the day before, Éric Ciotti, who assures that this decision has “no legal value”, was seen at LR headquarters and would have “almost all access” to the building.
11:36 – Around sixty LR invested by the RN in the legislative elections?
According to information from the JDD, 60 to 70 candidates from the ranks of the Republicans would be nominated by the National Rally in the early legislative elections. “We have signed,” affirmed an LR executive in favor of the alliance with Jordan Bardella. However, there would only be “6 or 7” outgoing LR deputies among them. One of them would be the deputy Meyer Habib (8th constituency of French people established outside France). Other names are mentioned such as Guilhem Carayon, president of the Young Republicans, the vice-president of the party Théo Michel, or even the magistrate Charles Prats.
11:13 – Convocation of a new political office for the Ciotti case
After the holding of a first exceptional political office which ended with the exclusion of Eric Ciotti from the party, a second has just been convened to “validate the exclusion of Ciotti”, according to an LR press release. The latter contested the decision of the day before, ensuring that the meeting had “no legal value”. “We have very largely collected more than a quarter of the signatures of the LR national advisors who cover the national territory, demonstrating that executives, activists and members do not support an agreement with the RN,” assures the party. “The end is near” for Eric Ciotti, according to the party.
10:22 – Eric Ciotti took legal action
Eric Ciotti assures that his exclusion from the party decided at the end of the LR political office this Wednesday has “no legal value”. He therefore tried to go to the party headquarters this Thursday. He had threatened legal action if his status as party president was challenged. On his way to the seat, the outgoing deputy assured that “the Paris judicial court is currently being seized by summary judgment”, reports BFMTV.
10:19 – A lunch between Eric Ciotti and Jordan Bardella: a sealed agreement?
Éric Ciotti will have lunch with the boss of the National Rally, Jordan Bardella, this Thursday, according to BFMTV. The outgoing deputy from Alpes-Maritimes wishes to form an alliance with the RN for the legislative elections. Will this meal be the one that seals their agreement, despite the MP’s exclusion from his party?
10:04 – LR deputies ready for a behind-the-scenes agreement?
Sébastien Chenu, spokesperson for the National Rally, estimated that Eric Ciotti was “supported by his base” but “prevented by a few barons who have ruined the right for years”, according to Le Figaro. For him, LR executives “are not courageous people” and “do not want to change things”. He affirms that a certain number of LR deputies actually hope to form an alliance with the RN: “I can make a list of LR deputies who hoped behind the scenes for an agreement with us”.
09:40 – The RN will invest candidates presented by Ciotti
Who will really follow Eric Ciotti in his alliance with the RN? If all LR executives denounced his position with the exception of a single MP, the MP for Alpes-Maritimes indicated that 80 candidates supporting his approach would be in the race for the legislative elections. Mayor RN Louis Alliot confirmed on BFMTV that “a certain number of candidates presented by Mr. Ciotti” would be nominated by the RN. “I trust him on the number that he himself proposed for our investiture commission,” he added.
09:04 – Eric Ciotti ready to take LR to court?
An exceptional LR political office was held this Thursday and recorded the exclusion of Eric Ciotti from the party. The latter contests this decision, ensuring that there is no “legal value” of this political office. He even threatened legal action: “if there are obstacles to the legitimate presidency that I have, there will be legal action, including criminal action for those who use means that they do not have. no right to use”. The party also decided to reinvest all its outgoing deputies except Eric Ciotti and Christelle D’Intorni. The deputy for Alpes-Maritimes believes that “the investiture commission has no reality either”.
08:53 – Eric Ciotti reiterates his desire for an alliance with the RN
Present on Télématin this Thursday morning, Eric Ciotti reiterated his desire for an alliance with the RN: “what I want is for there to be this alliance of a national bloc between the Republicans, the National Rally and all those who are driven by the thirst to put an end to this helplessness.” He assures that this agreement would allow the Republicans to have ministers in the government: “there is no promise, but we will naturally have the vocation to participate in the future government of France”.
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Eric Ciotti caused an earthquake in his party by calling for an alliance with the National Rally for the legislative elections, the first round of which will take place on June 30. “All outgoing Republican deputies who wish not to have an opponent from the RN may not have a competitor,” he declared. He thus hopes to guarantee his political family “to have the same number of seats” in the National Assembly. It had 61 before the dissolution. “We need an alliance, while remaining ourselves (…) with the National Rally and with its candidates,” assured the man who had nevertheless declared in the past that he would never associate with Marine Le Pen.
Jordan Bardella, for his part, announced that there would be an agreement with “several dozen” LR deputies who will be “invested” or “supported” by his party. He also argued with Marine Le Pen that RN candidates might not be presented against outgoing LR deputies.
On the Republican side, Eric Ciotti is being rejected from all sides, with some going so far as to ask for his resignation from the party. A real split could be created among the Republicans, torn between the macronie, the RN and their desire for independence.
If the possible RN-LR alliance is at the center of concerns, the Maréchal-Bardella-Le Pen meeting on Monday shows that part of the Zemmour clan is also ready to discuss an agreement. People close to Marion Maréchal stressed the importance of setting up a “coalition of the rights”, considered essential to succeed in installing a majority in the Assembly on July 7. According to Jordan Bardella, however, nothing has been decided at the moment.