- French President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday defended his decision to call early legislative elections after his centrist party’s resounding defeat by the right-wing National Rally in a European Parliament vote last weekend.
- Macron insisted that voters in the elections he has just called will oppose current trends and choose the so-called “progressive bloc.”
- “I think the French are intelligent, they see what is being done, what is coherent and what is not, and they know what to do,” Macron said, adding that he does not “believe at all that the worst could happen.”
French President Emmanuel Macron defended his decision to call early parliamentary elections after his party’s crushing defeat in the European Parliament vote, insisting on Wednesday that voters will ultimately choose the “progressive bloc” over the far right.
In France, it is the legislative elections which decide the composition of parliament, and not the occupant of the presidential palace of the Élysée. Macron has a presidential term until 2027 and has said he will not resign before the end of his term.
The somber-looking French leader said his decision to call early elections – voting will take place in two rounds, on June 30 and July 7 – showed his “confidence” in the French people. He urged moderate politicians on the left and right to band together with his own centrist alliance to defeat the far right.
French far-right seeks alliance with conservatives after stunning victories in European Parliament
“I think the French are intelligent, they see what is being done, what is coherent and what is not, and they know what to do,” Macron said. He added: “I don’t believe at all that the worst could happen. You see, I’m a tireless optimist.”
The 46-year-old addressed French voters in his first news conference since his stunning decision on Sunday to dissolve the National Assembly, the lower house of the French Parliament, after the victory of the far-right Rassemblement party nationalist Marine Le Pen during the vote for the European elections. Parliament.
Macron sought to address the concerns of those who fear the risky move could land France’s far-right government in power for the first time since The Second World War.
Since Sunday evening, crowds have been gathering every day in Paris and across the country to protest against the National Rally.
Macron was adamant in his confidence in voters’ refusal to choose the extremes on either side of the political spectrum. He assured that he was not falling into defeatism and declared that he would serve his second presidential term whatever the result of the legislative vote.
French President Emmanuel Macron delivers a speech, Wednesday June 12, 2024, in Paris. President Emmanuel Macron addresses French voters on Wednesday for the first time since he called early national elections following his party’s crushing defeat to the far right in the European vote. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Macron said his decision “aimed to allow the political forces chosen by the French to be able to govern.” He added that it is “difficult to think that it must be the far right or the political extremes. Or maybe the spirit of defeat is widespread everywhere.”
“If this is what people are afraid of, it’s time to act now,” he said.
Macron justified his decision by saying he could not ignore the new political reality after his pro-European party suffered a crushing defeat and garnered less than half the support of the National Rally with its star leader, Jordan Bardella.
Unlike his recent national speeches in which Macron focused on Russia’s war in Ukraine and how Europe should forge a common defense policy, independent of the United States, and strengthen trade protections. against Chinathe French president focused on the internal problems of his country favored by the rise of the right, in particular the fight against immigration, the fight against crime and Islamic separatism in France.
Macron, who is in his second and final presidential term, said he hoped voters would unite to contain the far right in national elections, as they failed to do in European elections. He called on “men and women of good will who knew how to say ‘no’ to the extremes of left and right to unite to be able to build a common project” for the country.
“Things are simple today: we have unholy alliances at both extremes, which completely agree only on job sharing and which will not be able to implement any program,” Macron said.
Even though he seemed to project the kind of enthusiasm that helped him rise to the presidency in 2017, analysts say French voters are more pessimistic about their future and view Macron as increasingly out of touch with life real and wallet problems.
The French president acknowledged certain mistakes made by his pro-business centrist party while harshly criticizing certain conservatives who decided to ally themselves with Le Pen’s National Rally, with its racist and xenophobic past. He scathingly described an alliance formed by left-wing parties as “unusual and incoherent” after including Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s far-left France Unbowed party which Macron said “justified anti-Semitic policies” in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict. war.
“We are not perfect, we have not done everything correctly, but we have results… and above all, we know how to act,” Macron said of his Renaissance party, adding that “the far right (is) the main danger” in the next elections.
“The question is who will govern the country tomorrow?” He asked. “The extreme right and a few associates, or the democratic and progressive bloc? That is the fundamental question.”
Potential alliances and the two-round voting system in force in France during national elections make the outcome of the vote very uncertain.
Opposition parties on the left and right worked to form alliances and field candidates in the first parliamentary elections.
Although strong differences remain between parties on both sides of the political spectrum, the prominent figures calling for a united front appear to have one thing in common: they do not want to cooperate with Macron.
Despite their divisions, the left-wing parties agreed Monday evening to form an alliance including the Greens, the Socialists, the Communists and the far-left La France Insoumise.
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Le Pen is working to consolidate the power of the right by striving to translate the European triumph into national victory and move closer to claiming power. His party is expected to win the largest number of French seats in the European Parliament, potentially up to 30 of France’s 81.
