With the center right occupied by Emmanuel Macron, what future for Republicans?

Laurent Wauquiez was expecting a hectic week. The meeting of the political bureau of his party, Monday, May 27 in the evening, and that of the group of deputies The Republicans, Tuesday morning, have probably not disappointed. Many elected officials have indeed asked him, more or less explicitly, to leave the presidency of the party after the European crash of the list led by François-Xavier Bellamy.

By obtaining only 8.48% of the vote, the party of Laurent Wauquiez has achieved the worst election score in its history at the national level. A result that, for many members of LR, must result in a change of political line. Otherwise, "the risk is the disappearance," warned the leader of Senators LR, Bruno Retailleau.

>> To see: "Davet and Man: 'On the right, a series of hate has resulted in a scene of desolation'"

Aware of the danger and the sling that rises, Laurent Wauquiez proposed Monday evening to hold from September "states general" of the right to "put everything back flat": "The values, the project, the operation and the alliance strategy ".

But many do not want to wait for the new school year for new directions and see this proposal as a way for the boss of LR, to save time. Among them, the President of the Senate, Gérard Larcher, announced Tuesday morning that he would launch in June and out of the party a "step through the territories to rebuild a project that brings together the right and the center."

"This gathering of the right and the center is essential," said Gérard Larcher who will "take this responsibility.I will not let the elected to abandon, in escheat, subject to sloshing" pic.twitter.com/SCUEwiSUW9

"I can not make up for the fact that Republicans only embody a segment that today weighs 8% - that's the reality - a conservative segment," warned Gérard Larcher on FranceInfo. "I will not leave the political families of the right and center, but more the elected officials who embody these values, abandoned, in escheat, subject to sloshing," he added, citing the UDI and personalities like the president of the Normandy region, Hervé Morin, or the president of the Hauts-de-France region, Xavier Bertrand.

"The future of the right, it can not be to be against the abortion"

"The problem is that Laurent Wauquiez did not have much choice, Judge Bruno Cautrès, political scientist at Cevipof, contacted by France 24. From the moment Emmanuel Macron goes in a direction that covers a part of the world. right electorate by taking up the themes of the competitiveness of the French economy, the value of work, meritocracy and the decline in public spending, it becomes difficult for LR to stand out. "

In fact, since 2017, Laurent Wauquiez no longer had enough cards in his game to oppose the policy of a government of which the Prime Minister, the Minister of the Economy and the Minister of the Budget are all from the right: traditional values, societal issues, immigration, the abandonment of rural territories and the declining purchasing power of pensioners have become the only angles of attack at its disposal.

>> To read: With Bellamy top of the list LR European, Laurent Wauquiez clings to the "cathos tradi"

The European poll showed the electoral limits of this political line. While part of the electorate on the right had already opted for Emmanuel Macron in 2017, it is this time 27% of the voters of François Fillon of the first round of the last presidential election, according to Ipsos, who preferred to vote The Republic working. The question now, for Republicans, is whether they can be able to recover this electorate.

Campaign director of François-Xavier Bellamy, Geoffroy Didier implored the right "to abandon its societal conservatism". "The future of the right, it can not be to be against the abortion," he said on France Inter in a clear criticism of the conservative positions of the head of list LR, chosen to target the electorate of François Fillon.

@ GeoffroyDidier (The Republicans): "The right must make its mental and ideological revolution.If we do not do it, we will die. [...] The right must be de-eradicating urgently. can not be to be against abortion "#Europeans2019 # le79inter pic.twitter.com/TuIFerKFFk

"It's not a question of asking for heads after spades, but we need an ideological aggiornamento for our party," pleaded Guillaume Peltier, first vice-president of the Republicans, at the meeting of the LR group at the National Assembly, according to reports reported.

"What project against Macron ?"

"The problem is which project, which line and which person to come to face Macron today?" I do not know what ideological sources could encourage the electorate to return to the right, "said political scientist Bruno Cautrès.

The line desired by Gérard Larcher or Valérie Pécresse, from a right "that likes order", "secular", "ecological" and "deeply social", as described by the president of the Île-de-France region. France Monday on France 2, is indeed already occupied, as well by the Republic in march that by Agir.

The co-founders of this party made up of ex-pro-Macron LR and chaired by the Minister of Culture Franck Riester have also, Tuesday afternoon, in a tribune in the world, called "solemnly elected local right and from the center right who want to put the interest of their territory first and foremost to [join] them ".

@Agir_officiel claims the legacy of the UMP. We refuse to let the right curl up on its most conservative and identity fringe. That's why we call on the local elected representatives of the right and center-right to join us.
Our call pic.twitter.com/w6NgZSaWvB

One way to put the Republicans face the choice that is now offered to them: stay in a frank opposition on a line of conservative and identity taking the risk of disappearing, or refocus and try a game of alliance with LREM by agreeing to to be only a satellite party of the majority.

Except that neither of these two choices is satisfactory for a party that aspires to regain power in 2022. "The third way is to wait for the economic balance of Emmanuel Macron, Judge Bruno Cautrès.If the head of state fails to reduce unemployment, social inequality, fiscal pressure and deficits, the right will then have a chance to become audible again.But it is an uncertain bet that requires more patience.