Little known to the general public but well integrated into European politics, Valérie Hayer has been named head of the list of the majority party, Renaissance, for the next European elections.
Born in 1986 in Mayenne, Valérie Hayer is the daughter of farmers and studied public law, specializing in finance with local authorities. She entered politics in 2008, at just 21 years old, with her election as municipal councilor of Saint-Denis-d’Anjou. First a member of the UDI, she left the party in 2017, showing her support for Emmanuel Macron. She was then nominated as a candidate for the senatorial elections of the same year for LREM in the second constituency of Mayenne but only ran for second place. She then turned to politics on a European scale. In 2019, she was elected a member of the European Parliament on the Renaissance list of La République en Marche then in 2021, she was elected president of the Association for a European Renaissance before becoming a few months later co-president of the delegation Renaissance in the European Parliament.
Five years after the last elections, it moved from nineteenth position to first. Elected president of the Renew Europe group in the European Parliament, she was chosen by the majority party to be its head of list in the European elections which will take place on June 9.
The “only pro-European political offer”
His first trip after his appointment was to a dairy farm in Mayenne. Through her family background, Valérie Hayer seems to place the agricultural crisis at the heart of her concerns. With her studies, she will also be able to answer budgetary questions.
On France Inter, she had highlighted her privileged fields of action: “If we truly want to have a capacity for action on social issues, on environmental transition issues, we must be able to push the line in each of our political groups. Valérie Hayer has also shown herself to be a great supporter of women’s rights, affirming on March 8 to “enshrine the right to abortion as a fundamental European freedom”. She also defends a “strong Europe”, in which it is essential to “strengthen our defense industries”. On the question of immigration, Valérie Hayer defended, on BFMTV, the choice of “firmness and humanity”.
Furthermore, Valérie Hayer places herself in great opposition to Jordan Bardella, head of the list of the National Rally for Europeans. She assured regarding her party: “We are the only pro-European political offer. We are the only offer which wants to continue to transform Europe”.
A delicate situation in the polls
The RN is also, to date, leading the polls. In an IFOP survey released on March 2 for The Sunday Journal, the RN list is, in fact, in pole position with 29% of voting intentions. Renaissance is significantly behind with 19% of voting intentions. Created after the appointment of Valérie Hayer, the Renaissance list still progressed by one point, compared to the beginning of February. In third position, the Socialist Party-Place Publique list does not exceed 10%.
The presidential majority finds itself tied with the RN among senior professional categories (25%) but is losing power for the voting intentions of senior executives and liberal professions (23%). Among “middle class” voters, the predicted score for Valérie Hayer’s list is very low (11%). The fight therefore promises to be difficult for the head of the Renaissance list, which launches its campaign on March 9 in Lille.