Legislative in France | Ciotti opens a crisis on the right, tensions on the left, Macron is waiting

(Paris) New twist: two days after the dissolution of the National Assembly and the convening of early legislative elections, Eric Ciotti defended on Tuesday an agreement with the RN at the risk of the implosion of the Republicans, while the shadow of Jean- Luc Mélenchon is hovering over the new Popular Front, while waiting for Emmanuel Macron’s conference postponed to Wednesday.

“We need an alliance […] with the National Rally”, affirmed Mr. Ciotti on 1 p.m. on TF1, estimating that “the country has never been so far to the right” and hoping that “all outgoing LR deputies would ally themselves with the RN to preserve a group powerful in the National Assembly.

An initiative immediately disavowed by the head of the LR deputies, Olivier Marleix, for whom the Nice deputy “must leave the presidency” of the party. His counterpart in the Senate Bruno Retailleau accused him of having “lied” and “betrayed” his party through “disloyalty” while the President of the Senate Gérard Larcher warned that he “will never endorse, under any pretext, a agreement with the RN”.

Despite an avalanche of calls for resignation within his party, Mr. Ciotti, who seems isolated among LR executives, insisted that he “will not give in” to pressure and that “only activists could take away (him) its mandate “.

By crossing the Rubicon of an alliance with the far right, the Republican boss has unleashed a torrent of indignation well beyond his camp. “Eric Ciotti signs the Munich agreements and brings disgrace to the Gaullist family,” responded Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. “Eric Ciotti has just assassinated the Republican right,” added the President of the National Assembly, Yaël Braun-Pivet.

“Political clarification”

Conversely, Marine Le Pen praised “the courageous choice” and “the sense of responsibility” of the president of the Republicans, and hoped “that a significant number of LR executives would follow him”. Same satisfaction from Jordan Bardella, delighted that Mr. Ciotti responded to his “call to unite”.

The same morning, the leader of the RN for the legislative elections of June 30 assured on RTL that the party with the flame would support candidates “from the Republicans” in order to “build the largest possible majority”.

A union of the rights already outlined the day before during an interview with Marion Maréchal. But, in a twist on Tuesday, the new MEP deplored “a change of position” of the RN which “refuses the very principle of an agreement” with Reconquête so as not to be, according to her, “associated” with Eric Zemmour. Even though, on

While the right was settling scores, Emmanuel Macron was playing for time. His press conference, initially announced Tuesday afternoon, will finally be held Wednesday at midday, the Élysée announced.

Mr. Macron will indicate “the direction he believes is right for the Nation”, just 18 days before the first round of the shortest legislative campaign in the history of the Fifth Republic. In the meantime, “the political clarification called for on Sunday by the President of the Republic is currently at work”, underlined the presidency, and “the republican forces on one side, the extremist forces on the other are positioning themselves “.

“I’m going there to win,” the head of state told Figaro magazine, ruling out resigning “whatever the result” of July 7.

For his part, Gabriel Attal, discreet since the announcement of the dissolution, will speak on Tuesday at 8 p.m. on TF1. Several majority executives want him to be at the forefront of the campaign rather than Emmanuel Macron whose unpopularity has already been heavily sanctioned among Europeans.

Left hand movements

Before the Renaissance deputies on Tuesday, the Prime Minister promised to commit himself “to avoid the worst” and considered it “revolting” that the socialists wanted to “build an agreement” with La France insoumise.

The four main left-wing parties (LFI, PS, Ecologists, PCF) as well as the Place publique movement of Raphaël Glucksmann and Générations, in fact found common ground on Monday evening and called for “unique candidacies from the first round” legislative elections on June 30.

Negotiations resumed Tuesday morning, to refine a common program and distribute the 577 constituencies. But the choice of a leader remains unresolved. In any case, “it will clearly not be Jean-Luc Mélenchon”, estimated Mr. Glucksmann, also excluding being head of government himself to better suggest the name of the former general secretary of the CFDT, Laurent Berger, spearhead of the movement against pension reform last year.

The Mélenchon case, accused in particular of ambiguities on the question of anti-Semitism, also tenses party leaders, like the socialist Olivier Faure, who estimated on TF1 that “there is no logic” that the rebellious leader “is the candidate” of the left for Matignon.

“He was not in the discussions” Monday evening, said communist Fabien Roussel on France 2, adding that the parties are “in the process of building something else”.

A priori without Jean-Luc Mélenchon, whose “question is not consensual in this agreement”, recognized the ecologist Sandrine Rousseau on LCI, also evoking the Laurent Berger option, but also that of the rebellious maverick François Ruffin.

Everyone is in any case pressed for time: applications must be submitted between Wednesday and Sunday, while the electoral campaign for the first round will begin next Monday.