It is an electorally inclusive Jordan Bardella, the one who presents himself to voters in the aftermath of the first round of the French legislative elections, in which Rassemblement National obtained the first place in the run-off that will be held on Sunday. With a snag, however: the Macronists and the enormous left-wing touring company, which includes heterogeneous forces, have made a “non-desist” pact in which each withdraws the third place in the run-off (in France it works like this, just exceed 12.5% and you get to the second round) in order to favor an alternative force to the Lepenists. Therefore, Bardella’s first statements in view of the decisive appointment go in this direction: broaden, reassure, de-ideologize his political proposal. A path along the lines of that taken by Giorgia Meloni with Fratelli d’Italia in our country. Thus, the under-30 who could be the next Prime Minister of France addressed a “letter to the French” so that they make “the choice of a responsible change”, waving the nightmare of a “far left” that “represents an existential threat to the French nation”. In this sense, “we cannot entrust the fate of France to these arsonists who adopt a strategy of permanent conflict”.
A line that Bardella reinforces on social media: «The French have two choices. Either the alliance of the worst and the extreme left in power. Or the National Union, the Republic and its values. I am therefore ready for a debate with Jean-Luc Melenchon. The French want clarity». Another step towards the «reassuring» line, he took with a statement that tries to embrace a large electorate. «I extend my hand to all voters, right, center, but also the most reasonable left».
In the meantime, the abacus is moving. The final results speak of a Rassemblement that, in alliance with the Gaullist Eric Ciotti (who formally still holds the leadership of the Republicans despite the ongoing dispute) reaches 33.1%. The New Popular Front is at 27.9%, while Ensemble, the alliance of the President of the Republic Emmanuel Macron, is at 20. The Gaullists who do not identify with Ciotti’s line instead go to 6.5%. The first round counts immediately see 40 candidates elected from the Rassemblement (among them Marine Le Pen), 32 from the New Popular Front and two Macronists. At the starting blocks for the runoff, the Rassemblement has 297 candidates in first position, while the left bloc is placed first with 155, the Macronists with 62 and the Republicans (not followers of Ciotti) with 34.
The “non-desist” pact, moreover, is settling down. As of yesterday afternoon, Le Monde reported that among the various forces opposed to the Le Penists, 169 candidates who came in third have withdrawn. The decision can be made until 6 pm tonight. In the meantime, the two main contending forces have a diametrically opposed position on the Middle East issue. While Jean-Luc Melenchon spoke in the square on Sunday evening alongside MEP Rima Hassan wearing a keffiyeh, a real endorsement for Marine Le Pen arrived from the Israeli minister of the diaspora Amichai Chiklier. If she were to become President of France, the politician said, it would be “excellent news for Israel”. Chiklier recognized the RN leader’s uncompromising position against Hamas and anti-Semitism. Marine Le Pen is “the prominent leader who participated with the Jewish community in the march against anti-Semitism, which Macron chose not to attend. It would be great for Israel if he were president of France, ten exclamation points.”
#France #Pen #studies #Meloni #strategy #reassurance #Tempo
2024-07-03 11:42:55