Paris (AFP)
With the break with Cédric Villani as the highlight, the municipal campaign in March was a "difficult" moment for the LREM movement and its parliamentary group, which continued to erode, even if many "walkers" presented the Villani case as a special situation.
. Exclude Villani, and after?
Most of the deputies were taken aback by the announced exclusion of the dissident candidate in Paris Cédric Villani, that the movement should act Wednesday evening in executive office.
His ban, after his meeting on Sunday evening with Emmanuel Macron and his final refusal to join Benjamin Griveaux in Paris, "is obviously an immense regret" because "so far, we had managed to spare the group (parliamentarian) of the municipal debate ", recognizes the deputy Roland Lescure.
After the exclusion of the party, it will be up to the parliamentary group to decide on the place of Cédric Villani in its midst.
What about its allies? For the deputy Paula Forteza, her head of list in the XIXth district in Paris, the dice are thrown, since she slammed the door by blasting a "locked" movement which follows "a dynamic of exclusion".
And the Vice-President of the Assembly Hugues Renson or the MP Anne-Christine Lang? "We never have an interest in excluding a lot, but rather in organizing the rally," said their colleague Guillaume Chiche.
"The Republic on the march should not spend more time excluding deputies than welcoming new ones," agrees a parliamentarian.
On the left wing of LREM, pro-Villani Jean-François Cesarini, who will vote for the EELV list in Avignon, wants "to be told where the red line is". Because "one can wonder if there will not be ten, twenty or thirty exclusions", given the dissent in these municipalities.
. Towards a new parliamentary group?
After the departure of Paula Forteza, the LREM group has 302 members and related to the Assembly against 313 in 2017 (303 and 314 including the president of the Assembly Richard Ferrand), while the absolute majority is at 289 seats.
In addition, several deputies left the movement while remaining related to the group, against a background of disagreement for the municipal. Thus Monday of Frédérique Lardet, who was not invested in Annecy and presents himself facing the outgoing mayor, the UDI Jean-Luc Rigaut, supported by LREM.
The main fear at the Assembly is the possibility of a group departure of several elected officials.
Jean-François Cesarini regularly evokes the idea of creating an additional group, which would remain in the fold of the majority but would have its own identity.
But the break with Cédric Villani "worries" more: "He has a certain aura. There is a risk that there will be a transversal and more structured approach by parliamentarians with environmental sensitivities," said a deputy.
"I do not have the feeling that there is a desire within the group to mark a distrust vis-à-vis the President of the Republic", nuance Bruno Questel (Eure) who does not at all believe in a " split".
. Macron embarrassed?
Emmanuel Macron stood publicly at a distance from the municipal elections and avoided any event that could resemble the campaign for the ballot. The reception of Cédric Villani on Sunday is an exception and was publicized by the candidate, not by the Elysée Palace.
His tête-à-tête with the mathematician annoyed certain "walkers". "I still wonder who advised him. It makes no sense. We are only talking about Cédric Villani while Benjamin Griveaux was making proposals at the same time," laments a deputy.
"Not in a + authoritarian +" position, Emmanuel Macron simply "worries about unity and unity" for LREM, argues government spokesperson Sibeth Ndiaye.
Many elected officials consider it normal that there is "tension" or "jolts" around this first municipal election for a young movement without local roots like LREM.
Emmanuel Macron "was never elected local, nor party leader. He does not have the political experience of these elections", testifies a faithful of the head of state, stressing that "he does not depend on a network of elected officials, like Hollande or Sarkozy before him ".
© 2020 AFP