French centre-right leader Ciotti calls for pact with far right in surprise move

Euronews
·2-min read
French centre-right leader Ciotti calls for pact with far right in surprise move

After Les Republicains (LR) leader Eric Ciotti announced on Tuesday he would throw his hat in the ring together with the far-right National Rally in the snap elections, the relations between French liberals and those right-of-centre took a further nosedive.

Ciotti, the president of the EPP-affiliated party, said to the French channel TF1 that his party has to create "an alliance with the National Rally, with its candidates, and all of those people that share the ideas of the right."

Ciotti has called the conservative forces to gather and "stand against the powerlessness of the Macronisme and the danger of La France Insoumise," the leftist parliamentary group of Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

According to Ciotti, this alliance could be the last attempt for the moderate conservatives to survive after the political defeats suffered between 2017 and the last electoral races.

Eric Ciotti, leader of The Republicans
Eric Ciotti, leader of The Republicans - David Niviere, Pool via AP

The right-wing accord is expected to consist of an agreement between the LR and Marine Le Pen's National Rally (RN) to withdraw competing candidates in French constituencies to maximise the chances of their respective MPs to get the seats they are vying for.

As Ciotti explained, "the candidates ready to accept this solution would not have to run against rivals from (Le Pen's) party". Consequently, the moderate right-wing candidates will receive the votes of the RN voters.

Les Republicains to fracture?

The announcement seems to have fractured the LR so far, with high-profile current and former members slamming Ciotti's words.

Former LR member, interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, said Ciotti “signed the Munich agreement”, or the 1938 peace deal between Nazi Germany, France and others.

“He is plunging the Gaullist family into dishonour by embracing Marine Le Pen,” Darmanin stated in a post on X.

President of the Regional Council of Hauts-de-France, Xavier Bertrand, also spoke out against Ciotti's decision.

"As far as I’m concerned, it is clear: never the National Rally. Not today, not tomorrow, not the day after," he said on X Tuesday.

The strongly-worded denouncements mean that LR veterans close to the traditional party establishment and the legacy of its once-leader Jacques Chirac will be mostly reluctant to join the alliance with Le Pen.

However, the younger candidates might be more open to creating a right-wing coalition, especially after Sunday's European election results.

The LR has its historical roots in General Charles de Gaulle's conservative anti-fascist resistance against the German invasion during World War II. The party and its predecessors, such as Chirac's UMP, have been in power in France for significant parts of its modern history.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest stories

  • Reporter Reveals 'Real Anger' From Biden White House Aides After Debate

    They were "shocked" and felt "they had not been told the truth," said Axios' Alex Thompson.

  • Harvard Law Professor Delivers Chilling Prediction After Trump Immunity Ruling

    Laurence Tribe explained what the Supreme Court decision means in "practical purposes" and it's "devastating."

  • 'Very Bad News' For Trump: Lawrence O'Donnell Says Ruling Could Backfire Quickly

    The MSNBC host revealed how the former president's case could be back in court sooner than anyone realizes.

  • Russian air strike ‘destroys five Ukrainian fighter jets’ at airbase

    A Russian missile attack destroyed five warplanes at a Ukrainian airbase primed to receive F-16 fighter jets from Kyiv’s Nato allies.

  • Malaysia's Najib loses legal bid to serve sentence under house arrest

    KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) -A Malaysian court dismissed jailed former Prime Minister Najib Razak's legal bid to obtain a document that he said would allow him to serve his remaining prison sentence under house arrest. In a judicial review application filed on April 1, Najib said an "addendum order" issued by the former king had accompanied a pardons board's decision in February to halve his 12-year jail sentence for graft in the multibillion-dollar 1MDB scandal. Najib had sought for the court to compel the government to reply to or confirm the existence of the royal order, which he said would entitle him to serve the remainder of his term under house arrest, and to execute the order if it existed.

  • Democrats Finally Saying It Aloud: Biden Might Need to Go

    Even after Nancy Pelosi raised questions on Biden's health, the party’s leaders have failed to meet the moment, writes Philip Elliott in The D.C. Brief

  • 70 percent of voters have decided who they will back in November: Poll

    More than 7 in 10 voters have already decided whom they will vote for in the November presidential election, according to a new poll. The Harvard CAPS/Harris poll released Monday showed 72 percent of respondents said they have already made up their minds, while 28 percent said they are still weighing their choices. That’s a…

  • US deports 116 Chinese migrants in first 'large' flight in 5 years

    The Department of Homeland Security said Tuesday that it sent 116 Chinese migrants from the United States back home in the first “large charter flight” in five years. The flight, which happened over the weekend, comes as Chinese immigration has become the subject of intense political debate in the upcoming U.S. presidential election. "We will continue to enforce our immigration laws and remove individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement.

  • ‘A terrible disservice’: Biden slams Supreme Court immunity ruling, says it lets presidents ignore the law

    President Joe Biden did not take questions after speaking on the Supreme Court ruling, despite questions swirling after his debate performance

  • Someone is standing up to Beijing’s ‘Nine Dash Line’ South China Sea land-grab

    Scarborough Shoal is a ring of rocks and reefs 29 miles around that lies within the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone in the South China Sea west of Luzon, the Philippines’ biggest island. Unfortunately for the Philippines, the Shoal also lies within the so-called “Nine Dash Line” under which China attempts to claim that it owns more or less the entire South China Sea – in defiance of international law and international court judgement.

  • Biden says he 'nearly fell asleep' during debate after world travel

    U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday acknowledged his performance during last Thursday's presidential debate wasn't his best, but blamed it on jet lag after two overseas trips earlier in June. Biden has faced mounting questions about his 2024 reelection bid after last week's shaky debate performance, with one House of Representatives fellow Democrat on Tuesday publicly calling on him to withdraw from the race. Speaking at a campaign event in McLean, Virginia, on Tuesday evening, Biden admitted the debate against former President Donald Trump, his Republican rival, did not go well.

  • 'Can't go back': Myanmar conscription exiles struggle in Thailand

    When Myanmar's junta announced a conscription law to help crush a popular pro-democracy uprising, Khaing knew there was only one way to escape its clutches, and began planning her escape.- Smuggled for $220 - Shortly after enacting the law, the junta tightened requirements for people crossing Myanmar's land borders, and temporarily halted issuing foreign work permits for young men.

  • US government employees who resigned over Gaza policy release joint statement for first time

    The US government employees who have publicly resigned in protest of the Biden administration’s Gaza policies released a joint statement on Tuesday for the first time, stating they “stand united in a shared belief that it is our collective responsibility to speak up” and outlining steps they believe the US government should take.

  • 7 Democrats being floated as potential Biden replacements

    President Biden’s campaign is intensely trying to quell speculation that he may drop out of the 2024 race following his lackluster debate performance last week. Most top Democrats have voiced support for Biden continuing in the race, while members of his family, including first lady Jill Biden, have declared they also want him to remain…

  • Clarence Thomas just gave Trump ammunition in his classified documents case

    The conservative justice goes rogue to lash out at Jack Smith’s credibility and authority

  • Emmanuel Macron is about to become unbearable

    His party faces near-annihilation in the National Assembly, with fewer seats than Rishi Sunak’s Tories can hope for later this week. His prime ministers, past and present, could not find hard enough words in private to describe his “suicidal” snap election decision since he took it three weeks ago. Marine Le Pen was quick to claim an historic victory as her National Rally came first in yesterday’s first round of the legislative elections, with 33 per cent of the vote.

  • Are UFOs Real? What the Pentagon Has Learned

    "The most common misconception is that [UFOs] are all the same thing and they're all extraterrestrial, and neither of those are true," said one government expert

  • Trump asks judge to throw out hush money convictions hours after immunity ruling

    Donald Trump has asked the judge in his hush money case to throw out his convictions after a Supreme Court ruling that granted him broad immunity from prosecution for official actions he took as president.

  • China-led resolution on artificial intelligence passes in United Nations General Assembly

    In a diplomatic win for Beijing on Monday, the United Nations General Assembly unanimously adopted a China-led resolution that urges the international community to create a "free, open, inclusive and non-discriminatory" business environment among wealthy and developing nations for artificial intelligence development. More than 140 nations, including the United States, co-sponsored the non-binding resolution affirming that all nations should "enjoy equal opportunities" in the non-military domain,

  • How a Gaza 'stunt' divided Australia's parliament

    A senator says she has been "exiled" for voting against her party to recognise Palestinian statehood.