Paris (AFP)

Emmanuel Macron obtained on Wednesday from his two rival ministers in the municipal councils of Biarritz, Didier Guillaume and Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, that they both withdraw their candidacies, settling a case which was disorderly in a Macronie shaken by several dissidents.

It was, directly announced by the Elysée in the evening, at the request of Emmanuel Macron that the Minister of Agriculture Didier Guillaume then the Secretary of State for Tourism and External Trade Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, both decided to give up.

Obtaining their withdrawal represents satisfaction for the Head of State, who had not succeeded on Sunday in dissuading the deputy of Essonne Cédric Villani from ending his dissident candidacy in Paris against the officially invested candidate Benjamin Griveaux. The rivalry between the latter seriously hinders, according to polls, the chances of LREM to win the city hall of the capital, despite the very good scores of Mr. Macron and his party in Paris in the previous deadlines since 2017.

It is also a new direct involvement of the President of the Republic in the Walkers campaign, he who until last week had chosen not to get visibly involved in these elections, even if he follows every detail behind the scenes.

The Head of State received Didier Guillaume on Tuesday to ask him to give up running for Biarritz, where he had launched a list competing with that of outgoing mayor Michel Veunac, on which Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne was running.

During their meeting Tuesday, the Head of State had asked Didier Guillaume "to stay by his side in order to exercise his responsibilities as Minister of Agriculture, in an important period for the government," specifies the Elysée.

- President's arbitration -

The President of the Republic "praised the spirit of responsibility of Didier Guillaume and his commitment alongside the actors of French agriculture", declared the presidency, which underlines an approach of "clarity and unity".

In this period, "all the forces of the majority must be gathered and work together" while the stakes are also "important for French agriculture in the context of Brexit and discussions around the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)", added the presidency.

The president also asked his secretary of state this Wednesday to give up appearing on the list of Michel Veunac, which Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne accepted in the evening.

The pressure had increased in recent weeks on Didier Guillaume so that he would give up running as rival of the mayor (MoDem) Michel Veunac, to whom La République en Marche should lend his support for the elections of March 15 and 22.

"I was warned that it wouldn't be tonight, but I keep waiting for it and I think it will happen, that's my feeling," said Veunac on Wednesday.

Prime Minister Edouard Philippe had thus estimated mid-January that it was "not conceivable that two members of the government could be candidates one against the other durably".

Mr. Guillaume had assured on Tuesday that he "will respect (it) the arbitration of the President of the Republic". "It is not possible for two members of the government to stand against each other, even if my colleague is on a list and I aspire to be mayor," he said on BFMTV and RMC.

© 2020 AFP