Paris (AFP)

"This movement has grown very quickly, it must now take root": six months from the municipal, The Republic on the march launches major work this weekend at its "Campus territories" to complete its local implementation, until then party Achilles heel.

The presidential movement is waiting for 3,000 people, Saturday and Sunday in Bordeaux, at this summer school that does not bear the name, at the risk of feeding criticisms of trivialization of the party, where LREM had always cultivated singularity and verticality.

"It's true that there was not always in the past the desire to do a summer school, but this campus comes at the right time," justifies the boss of the party, Stanislas Guerini, who announces "a stage in the life of LREM, barely three years after its creation.

The program of the weekend is dense: a dozen conferences to "listen to the territories", fifteen debates to "act in the territories" and as many workshops and trainings to "engage in the territories".

The event with the air of demonstration of strength summoned all the macronie: the whole of the government must participate, with the exception of Jean-Yves Le Drian, Annick Girardin and Geneviève Darrieusecq, as well as about all the elected ones party cadres and municipal candidates.

"White cards" have also been proposed to the three major circles of French political thought: the Jean-Jaurès Foundation, Terra Nova - classified left and center left - and FondaPol - marked center right.

The stakes are multiple: first, tie up the troops, sometimes critical of the verticality of the movement, while, at the same time, several parliamentary offices were vandalized this summer.

- "Crispations" -

The Territorial Campus must also initiate a reform of the LREM statutes to give local committees more autonomy by decentralizing their financial resources.

"Our movement is largely perfectible," recognizes Stanislas Guerini, who swears by more "internal democracy" for a better "implantation". The philosophy of LREM, however, provides a history of macronia, spokesman Sibeth Ndiaye government is intact: "we still do not want local potentates," she said.

Then, it is to prepare the municipal. "What we must bring to our candidates is programmatic, fed by axes - sustainable development, health, local democracy - and training: both the way of campaigning, then knowing how to administer or manage local finances, "lists the party boss.

But, if we rent these local elections "promising", which must "provide answers for + remake nation +" and "recreate links", we also admit "stresses" specific to investitures given by the National Commission of left.

As the grumbling goes up: in Lille, where Violet Spillebout was preferred to Valerie Petit, in Haute-Savoie, where the departmental referent resigned Monday because of a disagreement on the strategy to be adopted in Annecy, or in Paris, where the dissident candidacy of Cédric Villani seems now unavoidable face Benjamin Griveaux.

"We are a young formation: it is necessary to explain the stakes of the gathering that we must", argues Stanislas Guerini, who says "approach this election in a very modest way", and "assume, sometimes, to open to the outside and not to look at the navel LREM "," including by supporting local executives ", where many marchers had historically engaged in reaction to these outgoing elected officials.

In Bordeaux, however, the precept was not followed: LREM invested Thomas Cazenave against current mayor Nicolas Florian, successor of Alain Juppé and close to Edouard Philippe.

The Prime Minister will be there, however, Sunday, and will deliver a speech to conclude the campus. What about François Bayrou, a majority partner, but whose MoDem said he would support Mr Florian? "The line is wide open between us, and I think it will be there", wants to believe Stanislas Guerini.

© 2019 AFP