Paris (AFP)

Emmanuel Macron leaves without waiting for the offensive by multiplying the discussions with the other European leaders to build a "progressive" majority in the EU, which he judges made possible by the results of the European elections on Sunday.

Time is running out as an informal summit brings Brussels heads of state and government together on Tuesday evening to start choosing the new leaders of the European institutions, including the Commission's president.

After the short defeat of his list - 22.41% against 23.31% for that of the National Rally (RN) - the president wants to be at the center of the game, he who made the "refoundation of Europe" l one of the priorities of his quinquennium, an ambition so far upset.

Shortly after the results, he met Sunday evening with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

He receives Monday at dinner the head of the Spanish Socialist government Pedro Sanchez, released great winner of the poll, he sees as an ally on the European scene. Like the Dutchman Mark Rutte and the Portuguese Antonio Costa whom he recently invited to the Elysée.

On Tuesday, he advanced the time of his departure for Brussels to lunch around the Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel and other close European leaders.

Then he will meet with the Prime Ministers of the Visegrad Group (Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary), stronghold of the nationalist camp. Before meeting with Council President Donald Tusk and Angela Merkel.

"The future majority in the European Parliament will pass by us, undoubtedly.There is none without us," said France Inter Pascal Canfin, the number two on the list of the majority LREM-MoDem.

- Weber "totally disqualified" -

Even if he did not manage to get ahead in front of Marine Le Pen's RN, the Macron camp considers itself in a position of strength on the European level.

Indeed, the Elysee Palace argues that "for the first time" the two major groups in the European Parliament - the right-wing EPP and the Socialists - do not have a majority on their own and "will have to deal with a European force. centrist in which we will be crucial "and" that will be unavoidable ".

The first step was the announcement on Monday of a new "reformist" group in the European Parliament by the current centrist group ALDE (liberal-democrat) and the Renaissance list.

With 21 elected representatives, "we will be the first delegation" and "we will therefore weigh considerably in this group and the future coalition and therefore in the European Parliament," said Pascal Canfin. The head of list Nathalie Loiseau goes for that to Brussels on Monday.

For him, this group will be at the heart of "a majority of three with the EPP without (the Hungarian national-conservative leader Viktor) Orban, and with the Socialists", or four "if the Greens want to join". "I heard rather favorable voices to this hypothesis among the German Greens and unfavorable votes among the French Greens," said the former minister of François Hollande.

"We will probably work at European level with them," said spokesman Sibeth Ndiaye.

By Tuesday evening, one of the topics to be discussed by Emmanuel Macron will be the choice of the President of the European Commission, who must be, in his eyes, a person who can embody Europe in the world and be able to discuss as equals with American Donald Trump or Chinese Xi Jinping.

"This is the heart of the subject" for Pascal Canfin, who sees the candidate proposed by the EPP, the German Manfred Weber, as "totally disqualified" by the withdrawal of the right on the European scene. "We will weigh all our weight to have either a French candidate, Michel Barnier, or a candidate much closer to the new barycentre of the new Parliament, much less to the right." Regularly returns the name of the Danish Commissioner for Competition, Margrethe Vestager.

? 2019 AFP