Eric Ciotti does not have the stature of Michael Jordan. The Republicans (LR) do not dominate politics like the Chicago Bulls reigned over American basketball in the 1990s. However, it is the mythical anthem of the club which accompanies this Saturday, June 17, the entry of the boss of LR at Cirque winter, in Paris. The right has shrunk over the electoral disasters, but still dreams of baskets and titles. It is with the objective of finding the summits that the deputy of the Alpes-Maritimes launches the states general of the right, a vast project aimed at renewing the ideological line of the party.
This Saturday, LR stages a work of introspection. The party seeks to understand its stall in the right-wing electorate, fallen into the arms of Emmanuel Macron since 2017. We promise an exercise in “lucidity”, without taboo. When we have fallen to less than 5% in the presidential election, we might as well remain modest. Behind this self-analysis, the right wants above all to be reassured. Yes, she can still escape the cemetery! Witness the survey commissioned from the Harris Interactive Institute and dissected in front of nearly 1,000 activists. 57% of right-wing sympathizers have a good opinion of the Republicans, 61% of them consider the party “capable of governing France”.
“LR is not a dead brand”
And too bad if the right-wing electorate places its expectations more in the National Rally than in the heir of the UMP (45% against 40%). “LR is not a dead brand”, comments political scientist Chloé Morin, to whom MEP Geoffroy Didier had just asked for a “message of hope”. The essayist just notes the importance of venturing into the theme of the environment and feminism. “The left-right divide exists. The ‘at the same time’ is not a solution to which the French aspire”, abounds the pollster Jean-Daniel Levy. The room blows. “We want to show that we still exist and that we work”, admits number 2 of LR François-Xavier Bellamy.
This true-false session of self-criticism continues with the intervention of two disappointed voters. Two ordinary French people, anxious to tell the right its four truths. Well almost. Claudine was a substitute for an LR candidate during the last legislative elections. But what does it matter: like Guillaume, a lawyer in Paris, she criticizes LR for his lack of consistency when examining the pension reform. This is good, Eric Ciotti defended the government project against part of his camp. The room applauds, the rebellious Aurélien Pradié cashes. “The two hit pensions, it’s crazy,” laughs a supporter of the deputy of Lot.
“The only worthwhile place is first!”
At Matignon, Jean-Pierre Raffarin theorized the “positive attitude” dear to the singer Lorie. In the gallery, Gérard Larcher and Eric Ciotti appropriate this philosophy. And draw the picture of an “independent” right, ready to conquer power alone. The President of the Senate praises the “responsible opposition” of the Republicans, and indulges in a fierce charge against the executive. “By trying to artificially disaggregate the foundations of our political system, Emmanuel Macron has fed the extremes. He has impoverished the debate to the point of caricature […]. This relative majority is not ours.” An indirect way of responding to rumors sending the elected official from Yvelines to Matignon as part of a coalition.
In a long speech, Eric Ciotti digs the same furrow. The right will not be a “supplementary” force, but a driving force. “The only worthwhile place is first!” To justify this ambition, the boss of LR summons the glorious history of his family and the presidencies of Giscard or Chirac. As if past victories offered immortal status. Eric Ciotti thus makes doctrinal reconstruction – “the right has a duty to seize the sword of intelligence” – the condition for returning to business.
“We have heard this speech fifty times”
Ambition is noble, satisfying it will be tricky. The speech of the president of LR is imbued with a form of classicism. Éric Ciotti denounces the “migratory chaos”, the “outbreak of violence”, the stifling taxation and warns against the establishment of “wokistan”. The environment is flown over, Europe ignored. Eric Ciotti just insists on the “major challenge” of increasing the length of life expectancy. Paradoxical intervention. The president of LR ticks the boxes on the right, but does not outline any doctrinal innovation. The intervention is not innovative, but strictly frames the work of the Estates General. “We have heard this speech fifty times, laments an LR executive. This is not the promise.” “You would have thought to hear a speech made by ChatGPT for Cnews”, abounds another.
The right has given itself six months to carry out these states general. Sincere doctrinal change or communication operation? The conclusion of the Estates General in January 2024 will define the initiative launched this Saturday. Internally, everyone considers the operation useful. But the most ideological fringe of LR is waiting to see and fears that the elephant will give birth to a mouse. The vice-president of LR Julien Aubert summarizes: “It will be of real interest if it leads to a different intellectual matrix.” There is work.