Republicans divided for a potential rapprochement with the executive

Alexandre Chauveau 10:34 am, March 23, 2023

Emmanuel Macron has confirmed it: Elisabeth Borne remains Prime Minister at Matignon but with an extremely complicated roadmap. The Prime Minister's task will be to enlarge the majority as much as she can. This outstretched hand to opposition is mainly addressed to the right. Among Les Républicains, the idea of a rapprochement with the executive is not unanimous.

Refusal for Eric Ciotti

Officially, for the party cadres, there is no question of responding to Emmanuel Macron's call. Many, like Eric Ciotti, have in mind the next presidential election and refuse to be assimilated to the future balance sheet of the head of state. "We are not here to serve as a spare wheel for a power that is today in a dead end given its mistakes and mistakes," said the LR leader.

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Eric Ciotti, whose ambitions for the next municipal elections in Nice are known, cultivates his opposition to Macronism. However, the idea of working with the majority is no longer so taboo. "No one has demonstrated so far that independence pays," said an LR adviser.

"It's com'"

Former ministers Jean-François Copé and Rachida Dati plead for a government agreement as do a dozen MPs. Nevertheless, the envy in front does not really seem reciprocal. "They have to accept that the right co-rules the country," said one strategist.

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However, according to a deputy yet favorable to this union, the words of Emmanuel Macron ring hollow. "It's com'," he snaps. "There is no contact or willingness to deal with us," despairs this elected yet favorable to the policy of Emmanuel Macron.