Three European heads of government from the ranks of social democrats – the Spaniard Pedro Sanchez, the Portuguese Antonio Costa, the German Olaf Scholz – took up the pen, in The world of Friday April 22, to interfere in the French electoral campaign. In the name of Europe, they call on the French not to choose the extreme right and Marine Le Pen. It is an unprecedented approach, which shows how much the French ballot worries Europeans.
Usually, the Twenty-Seven are careful not to take sides, when one of them faces an electoral deadline: they know very well that they will have to negotiate with the winner, whoever it is. In general, they are especially keen to show a Europe outside of political battles, anxious not to be accused of interference.
But France is not just any country – a founding member of the European Union (EU), it is one of its pillars – and the only possibility of seeing the candidate of the Rassemblemant national (RN), openly Europhobic, entering the Elysée, worried to the highest degree, from Berlin to The Hague, via Rome, Madrid or Copenhagen.
“There was Trump, there was Brexit, we didn’t believe it. I will only be reassured when I see the result of the second round.says the president of the Greens group in the European Parliament, Philippe Lamberts. “Five years ago, within the institutions, we wondered if Marine Le Pen would be in the second round. Today, we wonder if she will win., notes Eric Maurice, head of the Robert-Schuman Foundation in Brussels. A victory for Marine Le Pen “would be worse than Brexit and worse than Trump”says a diplomat from Central Europe stationed in Paris (the people quoted whose names do not appear wished to remain anonymous).
The Europeans have therefore taken care not to put Emmanuel Macron in difficulty during the campaign, in particular about the embargo on Russian oil which he is nevertheless in favor of. In fact, if the Twenty-Seven were to agree not to buy any more, hoping thus to dry up Vladimir Putin’s income to finance his war in Ukraine, it is likely that the price of fuel would soar immediately. This would give Marine Le Pen new arguments, she who wants to be the candidate of purchasing power and also opposes the stoppage of Russian oil imports.
In this context, no one in Brussels has sought to speed up discussions which are complex, if only because Hungary does not want to hear of such an embargo. “Even if it’s not official or formal, we don’t want to complicate Macron’s life”says a diplomat.
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