“When you only have 47 deputies, you cannot impose your policy,” warns the president of the centrist Modem group in the Assembly, Marc Fesneau, addressing the Republicans (LR), ready to enter Michel Barnier’s government.
The LR approved on Thursday the principle of participation in the government that Michel Barnier, a member of their party, must form, appointed to Matignon by Emmanuel Macron two months after the legislative elections to try to resolve the political crisis linked to the absence of a majority.
“We need a government balance that takes into account the reality of the National Assembly. However, LR, with its 47 deputies, is behaving in the same way as the New Popular Front, which, this summer, believed that it could impose its policy even if it only had 193 votes,” said Marc Fesneau in an interview with La Tribune Dimanche.
“The central bloc has three times as many deputies as them”
“The Republicans must be, like all of us, clear-sighted and responsible. They do not have the means for the policy they are calling for. If the French had wanted to have a right-wing policy, they would have elected 289 LR deputies. It is clear that they did not do so,” continues the deputy from Loir-et-Cher.
“The central bloc, which we form with Renaissance and Horizons, has three times more deputies than them,” recalls the number 2 of the party led by François Bayrou.
Appointed on September 5, Michel Barnier must announce the composition of his government “next week”. The former European Commissioner continued his consultations on Saturday, according to his entourage. He notably received the resigning Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin. He had received Jean-Louis Borloo on Friday.
Horizons Support
This week, Michel Barnier registered the support of his party, LR, which initially camped on a refusal of coalition and participation. The names of the main LR leaders (Laurent Wauquiez, Bruno Retailleau, Annie Genevard) are circulating for an entry into government.
Michel Barnier also received strong support from Horizons, the party of Édouard Philippe. The reception is more mixed from Renaissance, the party of Emmanuel Macron, whose group in the Assembly is now chaired by Gabriel Attal.
Furthermore, Marc Fesneau reaffirmed the Modem’s desire for a rapid introduction of proportional representation for the election of deputies, also demanded again on Saturday by Marine Le Pen.
“This reform may not be Michel Barnier’s priority, but within the Assembly, a majority of us believe that it must be implemented quickly,” said the centrist leader.
- BFMTV.com
