The moderate right of the Republicans (LR), greatly weakened after seven years of Emmanuel Macron in the Elysée palace, is on the brink of explosion. The decision of its president, Éric Ciotti, to seek an alliance with the extreme right for the early legislative elections on June 30 has triggered a rebellion among the other leaders of (LR), the sister party in France of the Spanish PP.
Ciotti announced this Tuesday his intention to close a pact between LR and Marine Le Pen’s National Regroupment (RN). The leader of the right has justified this step, which would definitively blow up decades of cordon sanitaire against the extreme right, by the danger that, in his opinion, represents for France both a left-wing alliance and the centrist bloc that leads the President Emmanuel Macron.
“Today the Republicans are too weak to oppose two blocs that are too dangerous,” said the president of LR in an interview with the TF1 network. “We need an alliance [con el RN] to continue being ourselves.” With this alliance, Ciotti intends to guarantee the re-election of the 61 current deputies of his party thanks to the support of the RN; In exchange, LR should support RN candidates in other constituencies so that they would not compete against each other.
Ciotti’s announcement has angered many of his party’s leaders, as they consider that allying with the RN is a betrayal of their principles. 22 years ago, President Jacques Chirac refused to debate Jean-Marie Le Pen on television; Now his heirs are seeking a coalition with his daughter.
LR, heir party to the UMP and RPR of presidents Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy, claims itself as the inheritance of Gaullism. The National Regroupment (RN) is the heir of an old ultra party founded by people who fought against De Gaulle and in some cases collaborated with Nazi Germany.
Olivier Marleix, head of the parliamentary group in the National Assembly, reacted: “Éric Ciotti only speaks for himself. “He must abandon the presidency of Los Republicanos.” If LR splits, dissidents could join the ranks of Macronism, which already has prominent former leaders of this party. One of them is the current Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, who did not hesitate to allude to the pacts of the 1930s with Hitler, and declared: “Éric Ciotti signs the Munich agreements and plunges the Gaullist family into dishonor by embracing to Marine Le Pen. Shame! “French, let’s wake up!”
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