Prime Minister Gabriel Attal joked Wednesday about Marine Le Pen’s refusal to debate with him, saying that the boss of RN deputies was “uncomfortable” in an exercise which had “never been her strong point”. “I have always said that I was in favor of the debate,” assured Mr. Attal on Wednesday, on the sidelines of a trip to Beaugency (Loiret).
“A bad memory of his previous debates”
If the Prime Minister finally agreed to give the answer to the head of the National Rally Jordan Bardella, within the framework of the European elections, he initially wanted to face Marine Le Pen. “I am Prime Minister and the Prime Minister is responsible to Parliament.” However, “the president of the first opposition group in Parliament is Madame Le Pen,” he argued.
But last February, in the midst of an agricultural crisis, Marine Le Pen sent Gabriel Attal back to Jordan Bardella, head of the RN list for the European elections on June 9. “I think it’s because she has a bad memory of her previous debates, in particular with the President of the Republic” during the between-rounds of the presidential elections of 2017 and 2022, mocked Mr. Attal. “Debates have never really been her strong point. I think she feels uncomfortable in this exercise,” he insisted.
Assuring that he “will always seek to debate because I believe in Europe”, Mr. Attal gave no details as to his future contest against Mr. Bardella, the big favorite in the polls. “We will look at what conditions are proposed and how this can be done,” he said.
“The end of Europe is financial instability”
If this trip by Mr. Attal did not formally fall within the framework of the campaign, the Prime Minister still emphasized the issues of the upcoming election, affirming that “what is at stake on June 9 is absolutely major”. “I say it to our retirees, I say it to middle-class French people: the end of Europe is financial instability, it is monetary instability, it is instability to our borders, for which the French would pay dearly,” he warned.
“There are not 36 choices on June 9 to continue to support Europe and therefore protect the French. And I deeply believe that the choice is that of Valérie Hayer”, the head of the Macronist list, said he said, promising to “mobilize a lot”.