Nice, France (AP) – Strengthened by its overwhelming victory in the European elections, the far-right Rassemblement National (RND) in France began its national election campaign on Tuesday with its star leader Jordan Bardella and promised its supporters “the largest possible majority” in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
Opposition parties from the left and right are currently trying to form alliances and field candidates in the early national elections called by President Emmanuel Macron after his party suffered a crushing defeat by the far right in Sunday’s European Parliament elections.
A victory for the Rassemblement National in the national elections could result in the French far right taking control of a government for the first time since World War II.
While significant party disagreements remain on both sides of the political spectrum, prominent figures calling for a united front seem to have one thing in common: They do not want to work with Macron.
Despite their differences, the left-wing parties agreed behind schedule Monday evening to form an alliance that includes the Greens, the Socialists, the Communists and Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s far-left party “La France Inségoire”. The leaders have not yet agreed on who will lead the coalition or on their program.
Faced with European polls, left-wing politicians are focused on closing ranks to prevent a Rassemblement National victory and have vowed not to join forces with Macron’s centrists for the time being.
In a joint statement, the alliance called on all left-wing forces, including the influential trade unions, to unite behind a “new popular front” to form an “alternative to Emmanuel Macron and fight against the racist project of the extreme right.”
Marine Le Pen, leader of the Rassemblement National, is working to consolidate her position of power in the right-wing camp ahead of elections on June 30 and July 7. Le Pen’s niece Marion Maréchal, who won a seat in the European Parliament on Sunday as a member of Eric Zemmour’s rival Reconquer! party, visited the Rassemblement National’s headquarters in Paris on Monday to negotiate a far-right alliance.
Family ties aside, Maréchal said on Tuesday that Bardella had informed her of a change of heart in the Rassemblement National regarding a pact with the Reconquer! party. Bardella had “made a regrettable statement against an agreement by saying that (Le Pen’s party) does not want to be associated with Eric Zemmour, either directly or indirectly,” Maréchal said in a statement.
Le Pen also met with members of the conservative Republicans to discuss a common front. Some conservative MPs have supported some of Macron’s bills in the National Assembly since the president lost the majority in the lower house of the French parliament following the 2022 general election.
“We have a historic opportunity to allow the national camp to put France back on track,” Le Pen said in an interview with French public broadcaster on Monday evening. She said the Rassemblement National and the conservatives could agree on several political goals, including an economic stimulus package, increasing purchasing power and curbing immigration.
The leader of the Republicans, Éric Ciotti, said he wanted an agreement with Le Pen, prompting several prominent members of his party to call for his resignation. Ciotti stressed that the conservatives needed the alliance for their political survival.
“I want my political family to go in this direction,” he said in an interview with French public broadcaster on Tuesday. He sharply criticized Macron’s bloc within the conservative party, “which has led the country to where it is today – with more violence, more insecurity.”
“A right-wing bloc, a national bloc … is what the vast majority of our voters want,” Ciotti said.
Bardella, Le Pen’s 28-year-old protégé and the face of the far-right’s European triumph, also urged French conservatives to ride the wave of popularity with the Rassemblement National, urging conservatives to “stop being Emmanuel Macron’s political crutch” and “work with us.”
French Economy Minister Bruno Le Maire called on members of Macron’s Renaissance party to “make room” in their ranks for those conservatives who refuse to cooperate with the far right in the election.
On Tuesday, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal had already met with the outgoing members of the Renaissance Party, who are still suffering from their defeat against the extreme right and the president’s decision to dissolve the National Assembly.
Attal acknowledged that the dissolution was a “brutal decision” for lawmakers, but urged them to prepare for “the new fight.”
“They embody stability instead of chaos… courage instead of populism,” Attal said.
Macron is expected to discuss the upcoming elections in a press conference scheduled for Wednesday.
