Guidel (France) (AFP)
The president of the MoDem François Bayrou and that of the National Assembly Richard Ferrand (LREM) on Saturday morning accelerated the project of a "unitary movement" bringing together the two parties for the presidential and legislative elections, during the re-entry university of the MoDem in Guidel (Morbihan).
Invited by the centrists, Richard Ferrand pleaded for "inaugurating" this "common house" of the majority "before the end" of 2021. He described the still undecided project as an "open house" whose two "pillars" would be LREM and the Modem, but which should allow the majority to "expand".
Friday evening, the MoDem took one more step towards this gathering by "giving mandate and power" to its executive office to "prepare the practical conditions for such a rapprochement" with LREM.
By insisting that in this "new group, each of the founders be guaranteed in their intangible and material historical heritage".
This "great democratic current" should "have existed and been created for a long time," said François Bayrou in front of his troops on Saturday morning.
This "common house", called to support the probable candidacy of Emmanuel Macron in 2022, has been a sea serpent for several months within the majority.
To talk about it, the MoDem invited to its traditional university of re-entry many executives of LREM and of the majority, including the number 1 of the party Stanislas Guerini and the Prime Minister Jean Castex, expected Sunday.
Among the "walkers", some remain skeptical about this project whose contours are still uncertain.
"For us, it is rather a label for the presidential election. It can also be a skeleton of a political party but not much more", judges a parliamentary source LREM.
Some see it as a strategy by Francois Bayrou to protect his influence in the majority against that of former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who is due to launch his own party on October 9.
With negotiations that promise to be tight for the legislative nominations.
© 2021 AFP