Emmanuel Macron places the National Rally outside the Republican arc in an interview with the newspaper l’Humanité and contradicts his Prime Minister. What about the far left forces?
It’s a remarkable interview and a widely relayed phrase. “The National Rally [s’inscrit] not in the republican arc” assured Emmanuel Macron in the columns of theHumanity on Sunday February 18. The Head of State thus directly contradicts the remarks made by his Prime Minister last Monday. Gabriel Attal declared: “the Republican arc is the Hemicycle” since “millions of French people voted” to form the National Assembly. But he also contradicts himself, because on February 9 the same Emmanuel Macron considered it “completely normal to have discussions” with the RN in the National Assembly. So on what foot should we dance?
Emmanuel Macron insisted: working with the National Rally is an impassable red line. He also recalled the principle that he himself established during the examination and vote of the immigration law and according to which “important texts [doivent] should not pass thanks [aux] voice” of the extreme right. “This distinction is enough to say where I live” estimated the head of state in the communist newspaper. The President of the Republic, however, recognized that he could not “ignore” the presence of Marine Le Pen’s party and its 88 deputies to whom the National Assembly “entrusted responsibilities”. But according to him, “all the forces elected by the people” do not adhere “to the Republic and its values”. Emmanuel Macron also sent the National Rally and the Zemmourist Reconquest party back-to-back, outside the Republican arc.
No “equivalence between the two extremes” but…
The head of state took advantage of his interview in the communist newspaper to clarify his position on the far right, reproaching the canard for being “unfair to the fight that I am carrying out” and for giving credence to “the idea that I would pursue far-right politics. But regarding the forces of the extreme left, Emmanuel Macron was less sharp, ensuring that he could not “establish an equivalence between the extremes”. However, he said “that, through their positions, certain personalities of rebellious France are fighting the values of the Republic”. Moreover, the party of Jean-Luc Mélenchon or at least some of its elected officials could also find themselves outside the republican arc since the head of state considered that the exclusion of extreme forces right of this arc is “also true for extreme left groups”.
But near theHumanity, Emmanuel Macron especially pointed the finger at the far right, particularly in the run-up to the pantheonization of communist activists Missak and Mélinée Manouchian which is scheduled for this Wednesday, February 21. According to him, “the far-right forces would be inspired not to be present, given the nature of Manouchian’s fight”, particularly because of the party’s history. A piece of advice that echoes the tribute of Robert Badinter last week and for which the family of the former minister had opposed the presence of the National Rally. A decision that the party said it respected. But the family was also opposed to the arrival of La France insoumise, which did not take this wish into account and went to the tribute.
The Head of State, however, was careful not to prohibit anyone from coming to the ceremony, as during previous tributes – to Robert Badinter or to the French victims of the Hamas attack in Israel – recalling that his role is ” to invite all the representatives elected by the French people” without “sorting them out” and leaving the said parties to make the choice of decency.