The first face to face between the representatives of the three blocs that are vying for power in France in the imminent legislative elections has become, after a dizzying campaign full of accusations of “extremism” and agitation of fears, a pulse of credibility and respectability to demonstrate that, on July 7, they will be capable of governing the country. An increasingly questioned possibility given that the polls do not give an absolute majority to any of the forces and these, for now, are not willing to form any alliance, not even to stop the thriving extreme right.
In an hour and a half of televised debate, the far-right prime ministerial candidates, Jordan Bardella; of the center macronist bloc, Gabriel Attal, and the representative of the left alliance, Manuel Bompard, have outlined, without great surprises or news, their programs on economic matters – the great battle of these elections, with plans strongly questioned due to their high cost in a highly indebted country—, security and immigration, the workhorse of National Regrouping (RN). Focused above all on national problems, they have ignored the major issues of international politics, such as the war in Ukraine or the conflict in the Middle East, passing over the possible clashes of their programs with the EU.
The only thing that the three have agreed on in a debate that was tense at times, although in a fairly restrained tone and without major personal attacks, is that the elections of June 30 and July 7 will represent a before and after in France .
Bardella, who has not missed the opportunity to speak of himself as “prime minister”, has said that the French have the “historic opportunity to turn the page on seven years of Macronism (…) and indifference to the anguish of the end of month, given the insecurity and difficulty of access to public services.” And he has presented his formula, that of the extreme right party that he presides, the RN, together with a split from the conservative right, as “the only one” that can prevent the “danger” that the “extreme left” would represent from coming to power. and make Jean-Luc Mélenchon, the leader of Insoumise France (LFI), “prime minister.”
It was not an on-air comment, and even less so when using it in his last speaking turn. Bardella is aware that Mélenchon is being one of the biggest headaches for the left alliance. His capital of votes is essential to stop the RN, but his positions, and especially Mélenchon himself, with his barely concealed desire to have a leadership role both in the campaign and in the political panorama that will be configured after July 7 , are a repellent for more moderate voters.
Precisely for this sambenito, if Bardella’s challenge was to show himself, as he has said, “credible, reasonable and responsible”, that of the representative of the left alliance New Popular Front (NFP), Manuel Bompard, national coordinator of LFI (the second and last debate, on Thursday, the head of the socialists will attend), has been to avoid any gesture or word that could sound radical. While the other candidates have not hesitated to launch attacks, Bompard has been the one who has made the least disqualifications and has maintained a calm tone at all times.
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Bompard has also presented the elections as an opportunity to “open a new page in the history of France” if the French “do not resign themselves” to falling into the “abyss of fear” represented by the extreme right and its program. “Since the dissolution of the National Assembly, many live in fear of seeing the extreme right come to power, in fear of our fundamental freedoms and rights being questioned, even of having to leave the country that has welcomed them. “That fear can be prevented from becoming a reality,” he stated in his final argument to ask the NFP to vote.
Attal, meanwhile, who as outgoing prime minister and face of a bloc, the Macronist Ensemble, which all polls place as the big loser of the legislative elections, has tried throughout the debate to discredit the “extremist” proposals of his rivals and It has been tried to present itself as the only guarantee that the country will not further increase its deficit or taxes. “As Prime Minister, I don’t feel like making people believe in the Moon,” he said regarding the proposals of the other candidates, who have fallen into disputes over the cost of their main measures to promote purchasing power—lowering VAT on energy. and fuels, the RN; blocking the prices of essential products, the NFP—and even in contradictions about how much to lower the retirement age, another of the star issues of this campaign after President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reform that provoked harsh social protests for months .
The debate has occurred when strategies for the second round on July 7 are beginning to be outlined. That is when the French must decide whether to give the absolute majority, as Bardella has requested, to the RN to be able to govern, or if they decide to stop the arrival of the extreme right to power for the first time in the modern history of France.
The problem is the multiple triangulations that will foreseeably occur after this Sunday’s elections in many constituencies if more than two candidates qualify for the second round. And therein lies the key: assuming that one of them will certainly be from the RN, it will be up to the other two to decide whether they join forces and agree to the withdrawal of one of them or if, on the contrary, they all decide to move forward. . The first case is the privileged—and most logical—strategy to stop the RN, since it would at least prevent the votes from being dispersed. But there are many doubts and misgivings in the event that the final is between an RN candidate and an LFI member.
Aware of this challenge, and that in these elections each seat is going to count more than ever, more than 220 French political figures have signed a tribune this Tuesday in Le Monde calling for an agreement to be reached now, before the first round, to clarify as soon as possible which candidate will be united to challenge the RN candidate.
“Despite the deep divergences that exist between the democratic forces, it seems essential to us that they understand each other to prevent the RN from obtaining a majority in the National Assembly on July 7,” point out the signatories, including the general secretaries of the PS, Olivier Faure, and from the Greens, Marine Tondelier, but also some Macronist ministers such as Clément Beaune or Agnès Pannier-Runacher. “This means avoiding triangular elections in the second round by removing the worst-placed candidate and actively supporting the candidate of the democratic forces who remains against the RN everywhere. To accelerate citizen mobilization before the RN, this decision should be known now, without waiting for June 30, by those responsible for all political forces, whether from the NFP, the outgoing majority or the Republican right,” the senior officials maintain. responsible, among whom do not include the top officials of LFI or the Communist Party, but other personalities, such as the socialist mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, who until now have not even supported the left alliance.
It seems difficult, however, that this proposal will have much progress. According to several media, in a telephone meeting held this Tuesday by Macron with Attal and party leaders of the formations that make up Ensemble, among others, consensus was reached on a “neither-neither” line, neither RN nor LFI, in a second round, although the strategy to follow in case the triangulation is with a candidate from another left-wing formation remains to be refined “constitution by constituency.”
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