France

Legislative elections : Macron throws everything into the campaign

- 3:26 pm
Emmanuel Macron press conference, June 12, 2024 (capture BFM)

Emmanuel Macron press conference, June 12, 2024 (capture BFM)

With 18 days to go before the first round of early parliamentary elections, the French President castigates the extremes and attempts to salvage the situation in the face of a probable defeat for the presidential majority.

Emmanuel Macron spoke to journalists on Wednesday, in his trademark logorrhea, lasting almost two hours. To say what? To justify the dissolution of the Assembly and to assert that he did not want to “give the keys to power to the extreme right”. (See our article: Macron: Barrer la route de l’Elysée à Marine Le Pen).
He took the opportunity to make a harsh attack on the extremes, and in particular on Eric Ciotti, the head of the LR party, who has decided to join the Rassemblement National.

A need for clarification

In view of the figures from the European elections held on June 9, Emmanuel Macron is well aware that the fate of the presidential majority, or what remains of it, is very much in jeopardy. To save what can still be saved, Macron has stressed the importance of “constructive dialogue” with those who reject the extremes. He presented himself as the defender of a “central, progressive, democratic and republican bloc”. He invites social democrats, ecologists, Christian democrats and Gaullists to join his party.
For him, “the masks have been coming off” since June 9. Macron called for a clarification of positions within the traditional parties, notably the Socialist Party and Les Républicains, in the face of alliances with the extremes.

A charge against the extremes

The President did not spare his attacks on the far left, describing their policies as “totally unreasonable taxation” and criticizing their opposition to nuclear power. He also attacked Jean-Luc Mélenchon and his allies, claiming that their positions are no longer in line with republican values. the RN and LFI “have leaders who step outside the Republic and its values.”

The future government

The President renewed his confidence in Gabriel Attal to lead the government, while specifying that its exact composition would be determined after the legislative elections. He also touched on several key reforms, including the “indispensable” unemployment reform, he said, the construction of eight new nuclear reactors and the regulation of the use of telephones and social networks for young people.

Regalian and international policy

The President highlighted his objective of strengthening a “regalian axis” to protect republican values, reduce illegal immigration and organize a major debate on secularism. In terms of diplomacy, Macron insisted on the need for “France to be an independent military power”, and criticized opposition to France’s nuclear deterrent and NATO.

The Prime Minister’s campaign

In conclusion, the Head of State said he was “confident in France, in the future”, despite the heavy defeat in the European elections and “the anger expressed by our compatriots”. He asserted that “in any case, we will have to govern differently, with respect, calmly and with dignity, in the service of the country”.

 

 

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