Having moved from third to fourth position in particular due to the poor result of the Macronist list in France, the Renew group – and with it the voice of the Elysée – will certainly lose influence in Brussels and Strasbourg in the five years to come. It remains to be seen to what extent. By going from 102 MEPs to just over 70, the decline is complete: Renew mechanically loses speaking time in the hemicycle, funding and staff. Despite only 13 elected officials, or 10 fewer than in 2019, the French remain the most numerous in this group and Valérie Hayer (Renaissance) retains the presidency of the group. The “battle”, through negotiations, for the chairs of committees and sub-committees in the European Parliament – this is also where the weight of a country is measured – is not over.
Renew controlled three of them until now: Environment, Defense (the vice-president was Nathalie Loiseau) and Fisheries. But this is not the only criterion of the influence of member countries which is also calculated by their size, the personality of their leader and, last but not leastto their internal political situation.
On the first two parameters, no problem: France (68 million souls) remains France and Macron remains Macron, a leader judged determined and competent by his peers on the European Council. The last criterion, on the other hand, depends on the upcoming legislative elections. If the National Rally (30 MEPs, + 12 seats) does not conquer Matignon, the main thing will be except for Emmanuel Macron and the image of stability of France. In the event of cohabitation with the extreme right, on the other hand…