“Together, France. “Already in 2017, Emmanuel Macron wanted to unite. For the next presidential election, it is his supporters who are working to rally support and allow their champion to resume for five years at the Elysee Palace. In early September, Modem boss François Bayrou publicly called for the creation of a
“Great central political movement” to support the future candidacy of the Head of State. A call received five out of five within La République en Marche.
“What matters is to bring together all those who come from different backgrounds […]. Who cares, where you come from. What we want is to carry a common project ”, replied the boss of LREM, Stanislas Guérini, on France Info early September. In an interview with
Sunday newspaper, Stéphane Séjourné, for his part, spoke in favor of the constitution of a “large French democratic party from here to the legislative elections”.
A “common house” project
The contours of the project therefore remain unclear, and the Modem re-entry university will be “the opportunity to discuss it”, indicates the secretary general of Modem, Jean-Noël Barrot. The deputy of Yvelines hopes for a “very large” gathering having “vocation to promote the results of the President of the Republic and of his majority, to work for his re-election and to ensure the sustainability of this great movement of thought”.
“Is this going to be a merger?” Is it a party that absorbs all the parties of the majority? “Asks Gilles Boyer, LREM MEP close to Edouard Philippe. “It is not the same if it is an alliance for the campaign or a movement which aims to survive it. “Whatever the form, a gathering remains” essential to move towards the next deadlines, so that we can jointly develop a social project “, considers Olivier Becht, leader of the deputies Agir, the party of Frank Riester, minister in charge of Foreign Trade.
“It must be an addition and not a fusion”
“The modalities are under discussion. Several avenues are being studied, in particular legal, ”says one in the entourage of Stanislas Guérini. To which we add: “François Bayrou insisted on the importance of not dissolving the identity of each formation within the collective. “It must be an addition and not a merger,” says Olivier Becht. “I am rather in favor of the principle of confederation. That is to say a structure which unites, which brings together, which holds the talents and the ideas and which makes it possible to make a common force. “
A position shared by Gilles Savary, member of the left wing of Macronie. “Macron cannot be the man of only one party”, underlines the ex-PS, at the head of the movement Territories of progress, whose position will be decided in congress after a “rather lively internal debate”.
The shadow of Edouard Philippe
The hope of a large gathering was somewhat battered by comments attributed to Edouard Philippe by the Chained duck Wednesday. “Yes for an alliance, but for a rallying or an integration, it is no. There is no question of joining a new brand that tries to camouflage the patent failure of LREM ”, the former Prime Minister would have declared privately. “These words are false. He never said the sentence that is attributed to him, “sweeps Gilles Boyer, while Edouard Philippe is soon to announce the creation of his own political movement. This “will be part of the presidential majority”, assures his former adviser to Matignon, with reference to recent statements by the mayor of Le Havre on TF1. In what form ? Mystery.
Among the centrist enemy brothers of the UDI these discussions are observed with great irony. “Partisan maneuvers a little old world”, tackle Jean-Christophe Lagarde. “The reality is that the Modem, LREM and a few others are pulling the plug on who is going to eat the other during the nominations for the legislative elections. This is what they are trying to decide through a common house. “
At LREM, the principle of the “common house” seems in all cases already integrated: for the “5 more years” campaign, launched at the beginning of September with a leaflet printed in 1 million copies, the party’s logo has given way to the words “presidential majority”. A majority, however, not yet quite in working order.