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 Frexitons”. In an interview with Le Figaro published on Tuesday 2 February, he added, however, that he did not put the two extremes on the same level.
Is Bruno Le Maire ready to support all the candidates of the “republican front” to avoid a victory of the National Rally (RN)? After a charge on Monday on France Inter against LFI, the day after the results of the first round of the legislative elections, the Minister of Economy and Finance somewhat qualifies his thinking concerning the Mélenchonist party.
“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”, he specified this Tuesday, July 2 in an interview. in Figaro.
“No votes for the RN. But I refuse to vote for LFI, whose openly communitarian and insidiously anti-Semitic project is contrary to our nation,” he added on Tuesday on his X account. “We fight the RN with our values and our convictions. We do not fight the RN with the values of La France insoumise.”
The first party mentioned, heir to the National Front created in 1972, in fact comes from the party co-founded by Marine Le Pen’s father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, with the former Waffen-SS Pierre Bousquet. The current leader of the party explained that she had operated a separation” with this past since she took over the movement in 2011.
Bruno Le Maire, however, warns against voting in favour of the RN or LFI in the second round of the legislative elections, which he likens to “two disguised Frexites”. While the left and several heavyweights of Macron’s party like Gabriel Attal, have called for a firm withdrawal from the left and Les Républicains in the event of a victory in the second round. To block the RN.
Two “Frexit” programs
“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.
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.
Cowardly behavior for Marine Tondelier
The day before, on France Inter, Bruno Le Maire had called on France Inter to vote in the second round for “a candidate from the social-democratic camp” without including LFI, in order to counter the RN.
His words had provoked the ire of Marine Tondelier. Bruno Le Maire had declared on France Inter, on July 1, that if he assured “to fight” the RN, he calls “not to vote” for LFI. And to cite “communitarianism”, “anti-Semitism” or “violence” of the formation.
“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,” declared the Minister of the Economy in the morning.
The leader of the Ecologists, the real negotiator of the union of the left in these legislative elections to block the path of the National Rally, had then described his behavior as “cowardly and privileged”.
Majority divided at heart
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.
