As if nothing had happened, despite the political earthquake. The day after the dissolution of the National Assembly, Emmanuel Macron went to Oradour-sur-Glane (Haute-Vienne), as long planned before the debacle of the presidential camp in the European election. In this village, martyred by the Second World War, where 643 inhabitants were murdered by the Nazis eighty years ago, the Head of State met, on Monday June 10, the German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who had welcomed him on a state visit to his country at the end of May. The two men made no comment on the French internal situation, despite the shock wave that the choice of dissolution arouses abroad. And the necessarily negative impact of this decision on the influence of the Head of State on the international scene, especially in the event of victory for the National Rally (RN) during the legislative elections of June 30 and July 7.
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This setback is all the more resounding as Emmanuel Macron played the European and international card to the fullest in the final days of the campaign. After his trip to Germany, where he did not hesitate to warn against “bad wind” blowing on a Europe “deadly”to warn of the rise of extremes, the tenant of the Elysée welcomed to Normandy the heads of state and government invited to the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
The Ukrainian presidents, Volodymyr Zelensky, and American presidents, Joe Biden, were even received in Paris immediately, in order to further establish the European leadership that the head of state had claimed until now. A memorial sequence rich in speeches which obviously did not succeed in influencing the choices of voters.
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As of this week, the French president’s final gamble threatens to weigh on his influence during his international commitments, notably the summit of G7 leaders, in Puglia, Italy, from June 13 to 15. To make matters worse, Mr. Macron will be received there by one of the big winners of the European election, the president of the Italian council, Giorgia Meloni, an essential figure of the continental extreme right, to the point of having become a sort of reference for Marine Le Pen and her troops, despite their disagreements, in particular on Ukraine and Russia.
Embarrassment at the Quai d’Orsay
If it is not called into question, Mr. Macron’s participation in the peace summit organized by kyiv and Swiss diplomacy, on June 15, near Lucerne, should be rapid, upon returning from the Italian G7 summit. The Head of State will also honor his meetings in Brussels, in particular the dinner on June 17 with the Twenty-Seven in order to discuss the impact of the results of the European ballot on the choice of the next leaders of the community bodies, presidents of the Commission and European Council and High Representative of the EU. After a new European Council, on June 27 and 28, he should however give up a trip to Morocco at the beginning of July, supposed to take place a few days before the second round of legislative elections.
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