Regional: why the macronists want to "reinvent" the republican front
La République en Marche only managed to ally with the right in the PACA region, around Renaud Muselier.
Here, posters for the regional in Marseille, June 11, 2020. AFP - NICOLAS TUCAT
Text by: Anthony Lattier Follow
4 min
With a week before the first round of the regionals, La République en Marche's hopes of winning a region are limited.
The big question for the presidential party is how to position in the second round in areas where the National Rally could win.
The government calls on Friday, June 11 in
Liberation
to "
reinvent
" the Republican Front ... in another form than in 2015.
Publicity
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The presidential party hesitates to apply the Republican Front in its version of 2015. In previous regional elections, the Socialist Party (PS) then withdrew altogether in two regions after the first round to
block the extreme. right
. The National Front has not passed, but the left has completely disappeared from these regional councils for six years ... without this weakening the party of Marine Le Pen.
What to do in the regions where the party of President Emmanuel Macron should arrive in third or fourth place and where the National Rally (RN) threatens to win?
This as in Hauts-de-France, in the Grand-Est or in Bourgogne Franche-Comté.
Maintain oneself, at the risk of being accused of favoring the accession of the extreme right to power?
To withdraw and, in this case, not to appear on the political spectrum?
Or to merge the lists with the best placed right or left parties?
►
To read also
: Combat against the RN: the disarmed macronie
The République le Marche would like to adopt this last option, but one year before the presidential election, The Republicans (LR) or the PS refuse for the moment any alliance with it ...
except in Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur (PACA),
where the LR Renaud Muselier has integrated walkers on his list.
Kiss of death?
This is why Macronist strategists are looking for the right formula.
"
My intuition is that the Republican front is almost dead
," predicted on June 2 MEP Stéphane Séjourné, adviser to the Head of State.
Like him, government spokesperson Gabriel Attal proposes to “
reinvent
” it: “
Let's find a solution so that all the trends that can be maintained in the second round are represented
” within the future regional council, he explains in
Release
. In other words, he proposed that the list that came first include candidates from competing lists, but who would sit in the opposition in order to guarantee a form of political plurality in the hemicycles.
Behind this strategy, there is the will of the presidential party to force the hand of the opponents of Emmanuel Macron.
LaREM would like for example to fold the LR Xavier Bertrand in Hauts-de-France.
The one who conditioned his candidacy for the 2022 presidential election on his re-election as head of the region said he would refuse any alliance between the two rounds.
But maintaining a Macronist list in the second round could complicate the task.
Could he bring himself to this “
reinvented
”
Republican front
in the form of a kiss of death?
Macronist strategists hope in any case to weigh in these regions, failing to win.
►
Also to listen: Regional in Ile-de-France: a test for Pécresse
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