The left united around the New Popular Front, the National Rally rallied by Éric Ciotti: the clarification desired by Emmanuel Macron when he announced the dissolution of the Assembly and the calling of early legislative elections is taking place, but not really as the President of the Republic could have hoped.
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The left has foiled the trap ofEmmanuel Macron who bet on his divisions. The dissolution of Sunday June 9 united the left-wing parties by promising them an electoral opportunity, that of having more deputies in the new National Assembly, but also an enemy to fight together, namely the National Rally (RN).
In a few days, despite fundamental dissensions, for example on the position vis-à-vis Hamas, the rebels, the environmentalists, the communists and even the socialists met to decide between the constituencies. And they built a program, finally presented this Friday, June 14, with a common banner, the “New Popular Front”. Even Raphaël Glucksmann and Francois Hollandealthough opposed to an agreement with LFI, gave their support to the initiative.
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Rebellious France, “ main adversary » from the RN
This alliance formed in an emergency has therefore already succeeded in creating a dynamic, hoping to become the recourse for voters wanting to block the extreme right but not supporting the majority. A kind of useful vote. Besides, Jordan Bardella understood the danger, declaring during his first campaign trip today in Loiret, that the Popular Front was indeed “ his main adversary “.
On the other side, his party, the National Rally, already favorite after its large victory in the European elections, is further strengthened by the rallying ofEric Ciotti, even if all the executives of the Les Républicains formation immediately disassociated themselves, denouncing an initiative motivated by personal interests, and in particular its re-election in the Alpes-Maritimes. The fact remains that this makes it possible to broaden the base of the party Marine Le Pen.
For a long time, the RN had been trying to capture the right-wing fringe of the LR. The Republicans are thus destabilized, forced to wage an internal war to know who leads the party. Their president Éric Ciotti, excluded by the political bureau, filed a legal action, claiming to be the only master on board. And this Friday, the courts overturned his exclusion.
Read alsoFrance: the exclusion of Éric Ciotti from the presidency of the Les Républicains party invalidated by the courts
These legislative elections come at the right time to move the lines in the direction of what Marine Le Pen expected. Jordan Bardella announced that 70 candidates from LR would be nominated as common candidates. This is not good news for Emmanuel Macron. Clarification works against the majority.
Compromised central block
The head of state hoped that the majority would appear as the camp of responsibility and competence, between two extreme blocs, to recover the moderates from each camp. He did not see reconciliation coming on the left, where LFI and Jean-Luc Mélenchon acted as a foil. He was counting on the proximity of the majority to the line of Raphaël Glucksmann, carried in the European elections, to find electoral support? The New Popular Front changes the situation.
On the right, Éric Ciotti exploded his movement, and complicated the negotiations for the legislative elections at the national level between the Republicans and the majority, even if local alliances could be made as in Hauts-de-Seine. The prospect of a broad gathering around the central bloc hoped for by the president is therefore compromised.
A risk therefore: that the electoral battle turns into a duel between National Rally and Popular Front. So the president pulls both ways. This Friday, for example, he declared that the programs of the New Popular Front and the National Rally “ pose a very great danger » to the French economy and are “ totally unrealistic “.
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