With its 126 deputies, the RN constitutes a central force in the National Assembly at the time of choosing the Prime Minister. While Xavier Bertrand seems to hold the rope, there is a long history between the RN and the one who beat it several times on its favorite lands, the Hauts-de-France. And for the latter, a risk of parliamentary censure.
The message is clear: while the name of Xavier Bertrand seems to be the hypothesis favored by Emmanuel Macron for the post of Prime Minister, the National Rally has made it known that it will vote for a motion of censure in the National Assembly against the current president of Hauts-de-France.
An intention confirmed by Marine Le Pen during a telephone conversation with the President of the Republic this Wednesday, September 4. He is “the first on the list to be censored”, even affirmed the RN deputy Sébastien Chenu this Tuesday on France Info.
Xavier Bertrand calls himself “the National Front’s number one enemy (sic) for years”. Indeed, there is a long history of mutual hatred between him and the National Rally.
“Hostility, even hatred”
“The RN never”, “they are good for nothing”, “the RN’s only skill is knowing how to capture the anger of the French”, “liars”, “charlots”… Xavier Bertrand is not to be outdone when it comes to the far-right party and is multiplying his criticisms, notably denouncing its “constant backpedaling”.
“I won’t hide from you that I have all the reservations, humanly, about Xavier Bertrand, but beyond my personal satisfaction, it is politically interesting, because Xavier Bertrand is the only candidate who has always expressed hostility, even hatred, towards the National Rally, and towards myself for that matter,” Marine Le Pen said in 2021, during Xavier Bertrand’s defeat at the Republicans’ congress.
This Wednesday, questioned about a potential nomination of Xavier Bertrand to Matignon, Sébastien Chenu accused the president of the Hauts-de-France region of being a “mythomaniac”.
Strong opposition in Hauts-de-France
As Le Figaro recalls, in 2012, having just been eliminated from the first round of the presidential election, Marine Le Pen had put Xavier Bertrand on a “black list” which listed the names of PS or UMP personalities who had behaved in a particularly contemptuous, hateful, insulting and anti-democratic manner towards “FN voters” and whom she had called for to be defeated in the legislative elections.
But the dispute between the two protagonists became more entrenched in 2015, when Xavier Bertrand won the Hauts-de-France region against Marine Le Pen, thanks to a “republican front” and the withdrawal of the left-wing candidate. On the evening of the first round, however, Marine Le Pen was in the lead with more than 40% of the vote against 25% for her competitor.
Why does Macron refuse to appoint a Prime Minister from the New Popular Front?
During his term, Xavier Bertrand claimed to be part of a “social” right, seeking to prevent voters, particularly from the working class, from voting for his rivals in the National Rally. For their part, far-right elected officials regularly criticize Xavier Bertrand for what they say is his proximity to Emmanuel Macron and Macronism in general.
“Broken the jaws” of the RN
According to Le Figaro, this opposition gives rise to electric sessions between the majority and the only opposition in the Hauts-de-France Regional Council.
In 2021, Xavier Bertrand was re-elected as head of the region, this time against Sébastien Chenu, with Marine Le Pen focused on the race for the Élysée. On the evening of the second round results, Xavier Bertrand congratulated himself on having “broken the jaws” of the National Rally.
“We cannot speak like suburban scum, or else we should not complain about the violence that elected officials suffer,” Marine Le Pen commented a few days later.
Xavier Bertrand immediately censored?
In the thorny political equation that Emmanuel Macron faces in choosing a Prime Minister, the RN is not seeking to govern and is concentrating its efforts and forces on the National Assembly.
With 126 deputies, the far-right group in the chamber will carry a lot of weight in the event of a possible motion of censure and could thus play the role of arbiter. The choice to appoint Xavier Bertrand therefore seems quite perilous, the left having also mentioned censure, especially since Emmanuel Macron has dismissed the hypothesis of Lucie Castets, candidate of the New Popular Front, because she would have been, according to him, “immediately censored”.
Jordan Bardella has made it known that his party is ready to accept a technical government under certain conditions. According to her entourage, Marine Le Pen reminded Emmanuel Macron of her demands so as not to censor the future tenant of Matignon: a Prime Minister who respects the elected representatives and voters of the RN, the construction of a vote based on proportional representation and a commitment to work on immigration, security and purchasing power.
