Valérie Hayer came in 2nd position in the Europeans on Sunday evening, far from Jordan Bardella. A look back at a campaign that resembles a Stations of the Cross for the head of the Macronist list.
Episode 1: a half-hearted designation
After months of hesitation at the Elysée, Valérie Hayer was appointed leader at the end of February, while many of her competitors were already fully campaigning. This half-surprise then looks like a default choice for Emmanuel Macron, since several big names in the macronie, like Bruno Le Maire, refused the job.
The techno profile of the MEP, little known to the general public, is already worrying the majority. “Bardella is going to break the screen again, so it’s a fragile strategy. We know that the election will not be decided in the field of rationality,” said a Macronist MP. Not the ideal conditions to start your campaign.
Episode 2: Slow beginnings
During one of her first outings, Valérie Hayer mentioned Raphaël Glucksmann, the socialist candidate, then in third position in the polls. “He should be with us, and he knows it,” she said, indicating that the two MEPs voted “90% the same way in the European Parliament”. A strategic error for a MoDem deputy: “It was not the best thing to say in an election where some want to sanction Macron. Our voters were able to say to themselves: if he thinks like us, then they might as well vote for Glucksmann!”
Throughout the campaign, Valérie Hayer tried to rectify the situation. Seeing the socialist list descending on her, the Macronist tries to present Raphaël Glucksmann as a Nupes candidate, and therefore close to the rebels. The blows are released, but probably already a little too late.
Episode 3: An unconvincing debate against Bardella
On the evening of May 3, Valérie Hayer and Jordan Bardella are face to face on the BFMTV set. While she must make up for a gap in the polls, MP Renaissance is unable to put her opponent in difficulty. Too shy, she lets the president of the RN take the upper hand in the discussions, particularly on her preferential themes, security and immigration. Little attacked, the person concerned even begins to mock his rival of the evening. “I have a lot of respect for you. You are courageous because you represent Emmanuel Macron’s record, and you stood as a candidate when no one wanted to go.” One of the barbs of the evening to which the MEP does not respond.
Episode 4: Attal (too) to the rescue
Seeing the campaign getting bogged down, and pushed by Emmanuel Macron, Gabriel Attal therefore puts on his crampons. Long discreet, the Prime Minister became much more involved in the final weeks of the campaign. He also faced Jordan Bardella in a televised duel on May 23, and managed to put him in difficulty several times. The head of government now follows his candidate like his shadow. Maybe a little too much? His burst into a Radio France auditorium, in the middle of an interview with Valérie Hayer, goes badly. “You can’t do that to a candidate who already shows a form of weakness, of being placed under supervision,” a ministerial advisor enraged this week at AFP.
The candidate, visibly unaware, doesn’t really know what to say. This Sunday evening, it is one of the rare elements of satisfaction: with such involvement from Gabriel Attal, the defeat is not only his.