While Eric Ciotti clarifies his RN-LR alliance, a new controversy could taint his campaign. Of the 62 candidates defending the “rally of the rights”, women appear to be in an extremely minority.
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- Between the Ciotti camp and the RN, the first differences of opinion have already been felt. While the outgoing RN deputy Jean-Philippe Tanguy assured on BFMTV that the pension reform would be “repealed in the fall”, Éric Ciotti, who has always defended an even more radical reform, told 20 Heures de France 2 that “it is not said that the pension reform will be repealed” in the event of a victory for the RN in the legislative elections.
- Of the 62 candidates guaranteeing the “rally of the rights”, also nicknamed the “friends of Eric Ciotti”, parity is visibly not respected. There are 5 times more men than women. Which could lead to future financial sanctions.
- Eric Ciotti, however, received the support of Guy Drut, Olympic champion and former minister of Alain Juppé: a position which did not go unnoticed.
- Éric Ciotti and his supporters within the Republicans, supporters of an alliance with the National Rally for the legislative elections, announced Sunday in a press release that at least “62 applications” defending this “rally of the rights” had been submitted. On France 2, Éric Ciotti clarified Monday evening that only “four or five” are outgoing LR deputies.
- On the side of the Republicans opposed to the union with the RN, “nearly 400 candidates” were nominated by the party, announced the president of the LR National Investiture Commission, Michèle Tabarot, and the vice-presidents of the party Patrick Hetzel, Roger Karoutchi and Nadine Morano, in a press release published Sunday.
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08:10 – Union of rights: parity far from being respected
One more pitfall on Eric Ciotti’s path towards the Legislative Elections? If gender parity is to be respected on the lists of candidates, it is quite easy to see that the “Friends of Eric Ciotti”, understand the 62 candidates of the Union of Rights (RN-LR) are far from the mark . As a reminder, failure to respect this parity can penalize parties in their financing. In Ciotti’s ranks, there are five times more men than women. The LRs are not up to par either, but still do better with twice as many men. Concerning the RN, the New Popular Front, Debout la France or Ensemble, the figures are more encouraging, with more than 45% of candidates.
06/18/24 – 9:03 p.m. – Jordan Bardella admits having to make choices on the RN program
On the set of The Event from France 2, Tuesday evening, the boss of the National Rally returned to these recent announcements on the RN program. “I will have to make choices,” he conceded on France 2, pointing out the responsibility of the presidential camp in the “economic situation which [il va] to inherit” and which, in fact, will not allow him to keep a number of campaign promises. So what will be the priorities? Security, immigration as well as “lower energy bills”, he said. affirmed.
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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.
In the middle of the campaign, Eric Ciotti is the target of an investigation for “embezzlement of public funds” during the 2022 legislative campaign.