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 Friday, June 28, the last day of campaigning before the first round, the National Rally was mired in a new controversy concerning its proposal to ban certain jobs for dual-national French people. La France insoumise took legal action against Renaissance for disseminating false information. Finally, the co-founder of En Marche, Philippe Grangeon, warns in the columns of L’Express about the “perilous temptation of ‘ni-ni'”.
Today’s controversy: Marine Le Pen disavows her “Mr. Education”
A new controversy that the National Rally could have done without, two days before the first round. Invited Thursday evening on the BFMTV set, the outgoing deputy Roger Chudeau, portrayed as the future Minister of National Education of a potential government led by Jordan Bardella, endeavored to defend his camp’s promise to ban certain jobs for citizens with dual nationality. While the RN persists in maintaining that this would only concern “fifty” strategic positions, Roger Chudeau went further, mentioning a ban on ministerial jobs and relying on “a specific example”: the case of Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, Minister of National Education from 2014 to 2017.
“Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, Franco-Moroccan, what did she do? She destroyed the public secondary school and above all she wanted to introduce Arabic classes in CP,” he said. “She herself said that she was a sort of gateway, a bridge, between Morocco and France. She claimed it as a quality,” he added, referring more generally to “a problem of dual loyalty at a given moment.” “I think it was a mistake, and not a good thing for the Republic,” insisted Roger Chudeau, for whom “ministerial positions must be held by Franco-French people, period.”
These remarks have sparked very strong criticism, from the left but also from the presidential camp. “We must fight with force and we must be outraged by these things,” reacted Emmanuel Macron. “An eloquent admission from this RN deputy, presented as the future Minister of National Education, who considers that a binational Frenchman necessarily has ‘a loyalty problem’,” castigated Gabriel Attal. “I find you a little harsh towards Mr. Chudeau. I want to thank him for this fine overview of what the RN would give in power: incompetence, racism and lies,” Najat Vallaud-Belkacem herself also quipped.
Faced with this outcry, Marine Le Pen has sought to distance herself from the comments of the former RN MP, a candidate for his own succession in Loir-et-Cher. “I am a little astounded that our colleague Chudeau […] may express an opinion that is personal to her but which is totally contrary, in reality, to the National Rally’s project,” reacted the three-time presidential candidate. On the sidelines of a trip to Pas-de-Calais, she also assured that the National Rally’s “conflicts commission”, responsible for applying possible sanctions within the party, would be “seized”, reported BFMTV.
The battle of the day: LFI takes legal action against Renaissance
An attack during the debate broadcast this Thursday evening, which will be settled in court. Taking on the program of the New Popular Front yesterday evening on the France 2 set, Gabriel Attal announced the launch of a simulator calculating the evolution of retirement pensions in the event of a victory of the left-wing alliance in the legislative elections. “All the French people who are watching us can connect to the site. You enter the amount of your retirement and you see by how much your CSG (general social contribution) will increase and how much less retirement that will mean for you,” assured the Prime Minister.
Like the rest of the left alliance, La France insoumise castigated a “lie” simulator, explaining that it was based “on methods of calculation which do not appear in the program of the New Popular Front and gives completely inconsistent results that could mislead voters. “A few days before the election, this disinformation campaign is simply unacceptable,” the party said. Socialist senator Corinne Narassiguin explained that Renaissance had started “from a socialist amendment to the pension reform which was not voted on, and which is not in the NFP program”.
Thus, LFI announced that it had taken legal action for summary proceedings for “dissemination of false information”. “We are taking action before the judicial judge on the basis of article L163-2 of the electoral code due to false and misleading allegations likely to alter the vote.” According to information from World and AFP, the hearing will be held this Monday, July 1, at ten o’clock.
Asked by AFP, Renaissance indicated that the aim of this simulator was to “alert the French, especially retirees, on the real impact that the amendments” tabled by the Nupes deputies “would have on their pensions”. “Indeed, there are results that are aberrant on this simulator, but it is the fruit of their own amendment and the reform that they proposed” to the Assembly during the debate on pensions, explained a party official to AFP.
The call of the day: the co-founder of En Marche against “neither-nor”
Among Emmanuel Macron’s friends, there is one who occupies a unique place. Because he accompanies him from the first hours of his political adventure, because he has the experience and the character which offer freedom of speech, Philippe Grangeon is one of those whose opinion counts double for the president of the Republic.
Coming from the left, former advisor to Nicole Notat at the CFDT, Grangeon has long ensured that the barycenter of Macronism does not lean too far to the right but is indeed one “at the same time”. Imposing a duty of reserve since his departure from the Elysée in 2020, anxious not to burden the Head of State, he takes the floor today to demand that the majority give, “without arguing”, instructions clear to “avoid the worst”. A column that L’Express publishes in its entirety.
Today’s stage: closing of the campaign for the first round
This Friday evening marks the end of the campaign for the first round of these early legislative elections. From midnight, all distribution of leaflets, electoral meetings or speeches by candidates or political parties are firmly prohibited. And this, until this Sunday evening, 8 p.m., the moment which will mark the start of the second round campaign. The 46 hours following the announcement of the results of the first round will be particularly crucial, and could well change the future composition of the National Assembly, which is still very undecided.