9:02 p.m., Sunday June 9. France falls into a dizzying unknown, after the presidential announcement of the dissolution of the National Assembly. Since then, the campaign has been in full swing to elect the 577 deputies who will make up the National Assembly and who will shape the future majority that will govern the country. This Wednesday, June 26, the open war between Jean-Luc Mélenchon and François Ruffin takes on a new dimension. Aurélien Pradié announces his departure from the Republicans, a “dead” party, while crushing Eric Ciotti’s “Guignol number”. Finally, Marine Le Pen assures that Jordan Bardella “already has his government in mind”.
Guerrilla warfare of the day: between Ruffin and the Mélenchon clan, anything goes
“Join the RN direct!” The brutal attack was carried out by Adrien Quatennens, against… François Ruffin. Because while Manuel Bompard was debating against Gabriel Attal and Jordan Bardella on the TF1 set this Tuesday evening, the former national coordinator of La France insoumise took the opportunity to settle scores with the outgoing deputy for the Somme. “It’s no longer a melon, it’s a watermelon! Be careful: if it swells so much, it will explode. If Mélenchon and the FI had not invested in you, you would not exist. And today, shoot against him is your life insurance”, castigated Adrien Quatennens on the social network X (formerly Twitter).
A response to a sequence of François Ruffin campaigning in the Somme and broadcast by TF1, in which he very harshly judges the omnipresence of the figure of La France insoumise in the countryside. “It’s not support here, Jean-Luc Mélenchon. It’s rather something that repels voters,” he explains. Before continuing: “I think it is an obstacle to the victory of the Popular Front. It is undoubtedly necessary to go on TV shows. But it would be good if the leaders of France Insoumise were here to discuss with the people, to convince and fight the National Rally”. Before attacking Mélenchon again: “Every two days, he goes on TV to say that he is withdrawing. So, it’s no longer really a withdrawal.”
Between the two men, the divorce has been total since the dissolution, and in particular since the withdrawal of the LFI nomination from “rebellious” deputies like Alexis Corbière or Raquel Garrido. And if Jean-Luc Mélenchon had stated in Le Figaro about François Ruffin that “I have never said bad things about him, and I will say no more today than yesterday”, several of his close lieutenants, like Adrien Quatennens, s take charge in his place. Thus, to the announcement of the support of the elected representative of the Somme for the candidacy of the rebellious rebel Hendrik Davi, the elected representative of Paris Sophia Chikirou reacted with a single sentence on X: “like the rope supports the hanged man”. “The 1st round is in 4 days, François Ruffin. It would be good if you had football when journalists ask you to hit your allies, for the people who are upset at the idea that the RN could win, they expect exemplarity and responsibility in the face of History”, replied the deputy for Bouches-du-Rhône, Sébastien Delogu. The reunion already promises to be warm after July 7.
Farewells of the day: Aurélien Pradié lets go of Les Républicains
In certain parties, rebels are purged. In others, they decide to leave on their own. This is the case at Les Républicains, where this Wednesday, the outgoing deputy for Lot Aurélien Pradié announced his departure. “LR is in an inextricable situation. Gaullism is not dead, it is more alive than ever, but LR is dead. I say this with personal pain because loyalty is one of my cardinal values. But it is time that I’m taking back my freedom”, he explained in the columns of The Dispatch, affirming that “the party to which I belonged is no longer capable of speaking to the French”. Aurélien Pradié will thus be a candidate with the label of his own microparty, “Du Courage”, in the 1st constituency of Lot.
Former number two of the LR, Aurélien Pradié had already been a free electron in his camp for some time, advocating a more social line than that of the management. The break was particularly radical during the pension reform. The Lot deputy, opposed to the government’s project, voted for the motion of censure of the oppositions with 18 colleagues from his camp, fighting in particular to introduce a specific system on long careers. Enough to earn him the resignation of his executive functions by… Eric Ciotti.
The latter’s about-face on pensions, now supporting the RN project, also made Aurélien Pradié jump. “It’s astonishing. In 2022, I led the battle to defend long careers in the National Assembly. I am very proud of it. Eric Ciotti opposed me on this same subject. J had the courage to vote for the motion of censure against the government, he had passed the pension reform. It was also because I tirelessly defended long careers. “He dismissed me from my position as vice-president of the party. This Guignol act really does not live up to what the French expect,” he still criticizes. The Dispatch.
Clarification of the day: Marine Le Pen refuses to be under the supervision of Jordan Bardella
Invited this Wednesday morning on France 2, Marine Le Pen affirmed: she will not be minister in a government led by Jordan Bardella. “I will be the president of the majority group of deputies” assured the outgoing elected official from Pas-de-Calais. There is therefore no question for her to appear under the leadership of the man who is 27 years her junior, while her objective is clear: the presidential election of 2027.
Marine Le Pen nevertheless assures us that Jordan Bardella “already has his government in mind” in the event of an RN victory, without giving many more leads. Eric Ciotti, possible Minister of the Interior? “It’s not up to me to answer you, it’s up to Jordan Bardella,” she replies. Jean-Philippe Tanguy, MP for the Somme and often presented as the RN’s “Mr. Economy,” future replacement for Bruno Le Maire at Bercy? “There will be, at the Ministry of the Economy, someone who knows what he’s talking about,” she dismisses.
At the Ministry of the Economy, the National Rally would explore the possibilities, looking for an “expert” who could lend credibility to a project deemed unrealistic and dangerous by many sectors. According to BFM BusinessJordan Bardella’s entourage reportedly leaked to the press several names of former bankers who were contacted to fill the position. Supposed leads range from the former CEO of Axa, Henri de Castries, to the former boss of Bred Olivier Klein, and the former boss of the management company Amundi Yves Perrier. All have firmly denied having been contacted, pointing out their differences with the National Rally program.
Today’s figure: 250,000 voters
More than 250,000 French people living abroad have already voted online for the legislative elections, as many as in five days for the 2022 election, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced this Wednesday.
While online voting opened on Tuesday and will end on Thursday at noon, it was quickly stormed, leading to problems accessing the service. “Given the crowds, the voting portal must increase its reception capacities”, acknowledged the Directorate for French People Abroad on X on Tuesday, advising voters to reconnect “later”. The reopening of the portal was announced an hour later, but Internet users continue to report problems with identifiers and passwords on X.
During the last legislative elections, this voting method was the most used by French people living abroad, used by 17.32% of those registered in the first round in the eleven constituencies concerned, out of an overall participation rate of 22. 51%.