In a National Assembly divided into three large blocs, to which must be added Les Républicains – and without a clear majority – each camp imagines possible combinations to govern or prevent certain others from achieving this. This Wednesday, July 10, Laurent Wauquiez, just elected president of the Les Républicains deputies, rejected the idea of ”government coalitions“, but raised the idea of a “legislative pact“which would offer an alternative to the appointment of a Prime Minister from the New Popular Front.
A new group name, “The Republican Right“, and a new president in the person of Laurent Wauquiez. Faced with the three blocs formed by the New Popular Front, Ensemble and the National Rally, the Republicans intend to carry weight in the National Assembly, by asserting themselves in an attitude “positive” et “independent“in the words of their new group president.
Wauquiez: no “coalition”, but a “legislative pact”
“We all now realise how serious the situation is.with both a political crisis, a crisis of our institutions, and a crisis of the country which deeply worries the French“. Therefore Laurent Wauquiezsurrounded by the deputies of his group, introduced his first speech as president of “The Republican Right”in the courtyard of honor of the National Assembly, Wednesday July 10.
“The French are orphaned from a positive offer. Today we are all very lucid, the Republican right is not yet able to embody this offer“, acknowledged the deputy of Haute-Loire.”For this, we must rebuild everything. (…) And that is what we are going to work on, to implement a new political offer from an independent right“.
And “reconstruction work“, which Laurent Wauquiez considered to be beginning”Today, by asking the first foundation, with the creation of a new group political, which will be called ‘The Republican Right’‘”. The now ex-president of the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region had been elected a few minutes earlier as head of the said group.
Laurent Wauquiez indicated that “The Republican Right” was going to work on developing a “legislative pact around proposed laws that will be put on the table in the National Assembly to respond to the country’s problems without delay“. He specified that this pact would have priority”the revaluation of France which works, and of France which has worked“.
There is no question, however, of considering any active cooperation with Emmanuel Macron’s presidential coalition.”We will not participate in government coalitionsWe do not believe that a country’s crisis can be addressed by a combination of devices.“, did he declare.
During a meeting on Tuesday, the outgoing LR deputies had already considered the idea of a “legislative pact“, governed by the commitment of not to overthrow the Prime Minister at the first opportunity, or even to come to the support of certain texts in line with their own ideological software, while keeping its distance from the executive by not participating in government.
“The Republican right will oppose any government from the Popular Front“, moreover, hammered Laurent Wauquiez, warning furthermore that “any government that includes ministers from La France Insoumisewill be the subject of an immediate vote motion of censure“.
On the right, other hypotheses for the post-legislative period
Since the beginning of the week, however, several Republican officials have mentioned other possibilities than a simple “legislative pact“to find an alternative to the formation of a New Popular Front government. The President of Hauts-de-France, Xavier Bertrandthus pleads for the formation of a “national emergency government“, “with LR, independents, Emmanuel’s camp Macron“, and which would be led by a leader from his own political family. “For this to change, it cannot be a Prime Minister from the presidential camp.” he said on the France 2 set Tuesday eveningwhile calling for “to put a stop to Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s La France Insoumise”.
A line also defended by the former president of the LR group in the Assembly, Olivier Marleixwho in an interview with Figarocalled on the President of the Republic to appoint a prime minister “from the Republicans”. The former Prime Minister, Edouard Philippewho left LR in 2017 and founded Horizons, is trying to rebuild bridges by advocating for an agreement going “from LR to Renaissance”.
