Who will lead the majority list in the European elections on June 9? Official response “in the coming days”, assured Emmanuel Macron, Saturday February 24, on the sidelines of the Agricultural Show. Has his choice for the top of the list already been made? “Yes, perfectly,” replied the head of state to the press. And according to information from La Tribune Sunday, confirmed to AFP by several sources close to the executive, MEP Valérie Hayer would be in pole position to be designated head of the list of the Macronist majority.
According to the Sunday weekly, the appointment of Valérie Hayer, who currently leads the centrist Renew Europe group in the European Parliament after the promotion of Stéphane Séjourné to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is imminent. “Barring an unforeseeable event, it will be her,” a close friend of the head of state told AFP, when another source within the executive underlines that the decision is almost confirmed, notably before a meeting this Sunday at the Elysée on the issue. The boss of Horizons, Edouard Philippe, will be informed next week in person, specifies La Tribune Sunday.
Saturday, on the sidelines of the Agricultural Show, Emmanuel Macron assured that he had chosen his candidate whose official designation “will come”. “There will be a head of the list to be designated for the central bloc and which will be made official in the coming days,” he indicated, while most of the parties have already made their choice known, starting with the National Rally , favorite of the poll, and who launched Jordan Bardella in September.
The answer to a tricky equation
Valérie Hayer, aged 37 and originally from Mayenne, is a daughter and granddaughter of farmers who grew up on a farm in Saint-Denis-d’Anjou. Parliamentary collaborator of former minister and MEP Jean Arthuis, Valérie Hayer was a long-time member of the UDI, before joining En Marche in 2017 and then being elected to Brussels in 2019. Her probable appointment would resolve a delicate equation for Emmanuel Macron, several executives from his camp having refused this role or ruled out the hypothesis, including the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire, former ministers Richard Ferrand and Julien Denormandie.
The head of state also insisted on seeing Jean-Yves Le Drian on the battlefield on June 9. The former tenant of the Quai d’Orsay has several advantages: he is known to the public, embodies experience and is Breton, a land that the Macronists consider important for the election. But the main person concerned declined.
Other names have circulated, notably those of European Commissioner Thierry Breton or, therefore, of the president of the Renaissance group in the European Parliament, Valérie Hayer. Last quoted, by The chained Duck : Renaissance MP Maud Brégeon. As recalled La Tribune Sundaythe president did not want as head of the list “neither a Parisian nor a deputy, since his election would have caused a partial legislative session”.
But Valérie Hayer, who suffers from low notoriety, will have the heavy responsibility of trying to counter unfavorable predictions in view of the June 9 election, the polls giving the majority list a good ten points behind the RN – between 16% and 18% voting intentions. In 2019, the majority led by Nathalie Loiseau obtained 22.4% of the votes, just behind the RN already led by Jordan Bardella (23.3%). In the meantime, Renaissance and its allies from MoDem and Horizons have indicated that they will launch their campaign on March 9 at a meeting in Lille.
Jordan Bardella will give a boost to his campaign on March 3, during a first major public meeting in Marseille. The fight promises to be tough, but Valérie Hayer will be able to count on the head of state who has decided to invest fully in this European election.