Macron: “Say no to extremists”

With 18 days left until new elections, French President Emmanuel Macron kicks off his liberal party’s campaign. It is done with an appeal for support from “everyone who is able to say no” to extreme movements.

It has been three days since Sunday’s surprise announcement that President Macron is dissolving the National Assembly and calling new elections. It happened in light of the far-right’s success in the EU elections and the coalition’s own modest results. On Wednesday, he called a press conference where he called on a broad audience to “say no to the extreme”.

– The vote on Sunday was clear, says the president, referring to the EU election where the far right won almost 40 percent of the vote.

– It is politics we cannot ignore.

Outstretched hand

The far-right party National Gathering (RN) won a landslide victory in the EU elections and is expected to become the largest single party in the EU Parliament with 30 seats. Macron’s liberal coalition had a disastrous election, winning just under half as many seats as the RN, according to preliminary figures.

RN leader Jordan Bardella and party figure Marine Le Pen have reached out to the traditional right-wing Republicans (LR), whose leader Éric Ciotti confirmed on Tuesday that he is ready to work with the far-right ahead of the election. Ciotti’s announcement has caused many of his own to see red. Among other things, the Republican group leader Olivier Marleix demands Éric Ciotti’s resignation.

– The masks fall behind on Sunday, Macron says with reference to Ciotti’s decision to make common cause with the RN.

Remains

The fact that he chooses to meet the media in an event hall in Paris’s first electoral district, instead of in the Élysée Palace, is interpreted by French observers as the president’s campaigning.

However, Emmanuel Macron intends to remain as president. He is in his second and final term and it runs until 2027.