Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire has warned against voting for the National Rally (RN) or La France Insoumise (LFI) in the second round of the legislative elections, which he likens to “two disguised Frexites” in the edition of Le Figaro to be published on Tuesday.
“Let’s be clear: the extremes are excluding us from European construction, by renegotiating our European contribution for some, by flouting the budgetary rules of the eurozone for others. These are two disguised Frexits (France’s exit from the European Union, Editor’s note)”, asserted the man who has occupied Bercy since 2017.
“I do not put an equal sign between the RN”, which came out on top in the first round of the legislative elections on Sunday, and LFI, “which have different histories”, qualified Bruno Le Maire.
RN President Jordan Bardella says he wants to reduce France’s contribution to the European Union budget by “two to three billion” euros, while the New Popular Front’s program calls for “refusing” European budgetary rules.
Bruno Le Maire had called on France Inter on Monday morning to vote in the second round for “a candidate from the social-democratic camp” without including LFI, in order to counter the RN.
“I call on (…) all our voters, when our candidates are not in the second round, to vote for a candidate from the social-democratic camp, that is to say a representative of the Socialist Party, the Communist Party or the Greens”, in order to deprive the RN of an absolute majority, declared Mr. Le Maire.
“I fight the National Rally, but I do not vote for La France Insoumise,” he added, because of the “positions against the French nation” adopted by Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s party. And he cited the “communitarianism”, “anti-Semitism” and “violence” of the party.
The outgoing majority is struggling to speak with one voice when it comes to withdrawing to support a rebellious candidate between those who, like Edouard Philippe or Bruno Le Maire, want “neither the RN nor LFI”, those who take a “case-by-case” approach like the outgoing president of the Assembly Yaël Braun-Pivet and those who, on the left wing, do not set any conditions.
Regarding the suspension of the unemployment insurance reform by Gabriel Attal, Bruno Le Maire said on France Inter that he was “very circumspect about (…) the circumstantial positions”.
“I have always said that we must continue the reform of unemployment benefits, I am not going to change my conviction there, in the space of 24 hours, because I would have to manage to convince this person or that person,” he said.
“A reform (…) remains necessary to achieve our objective of a 5% unemployment rate at the end of the five-year term,” he insisted in Le Figaro.
The minister did not run in the early legislative elections. He was also not a candidate in the previous legislative elections in 2022.
