For Emmanuel Macron, the “anger” of the French calls for “clarification”

by Elizabeth Pineau

PARIS (Reuters) – Emmanuel Macron tried to explain his abrupt choice on Wednesday to dissolve the National Assembly by warning against extremes and calling for a Republican upsurge in order to build a “federation of projects”.

18 days before the deadline, the French president assured that he had heard the country’s “anger” embodied by the vote in favor of the extremes, to which he responded with a “clarification”.

“The return to the sovereign people is in my eyes, in this context, the only republican decision,” said the head of state during a press conference on rue Cambon, not far from the Elysée, referring to an “act of confidence”.

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In front of the government of Gabriel Attal gathered before him, he warned against extremes, three days after the European elections which saw the National Rally gather more than 31% of the votes, suggesting a good score in the legislative elections of June 30 and July 7.

The presidential camp only gathered barely 15% of the votes and the extremes of the right and left collected half of the votes, which the president recalled in his speech.

“I heard this anger,” he said, while more than 90% of the municipalities in France put the National Rally in the lead in the European elections.

“Everyone saw the waters of the extreme right rising (…) the clarification is now”, said the president, for whom the leaders of the RN are “the incarnation of ‘no'” to the head of a party “which serves demagoguery at all levels”.

“Since Sunday evening, the masks have been falling”, also remarked the head of state, the day after the choice of the president of the Republicans Eric Ciotti to form an alliance with the RN, to the great displeasure of the tenors of the party claiming to be the general of Gaulle and Jacques Chirac.

While alliances are also being formed on the left, where a Popular Front is about to bring together families ranging from the Socialist Party to La France insoumise, Emmanuel Macron spoke of “a test of truth between those who want to make their shop prosper, and those who want to make France prosper.

“These alliances are tinkering with the apparatus but in no way majorities to govern,” he said, referring to “inconsistencies” on all subjects, from aid to Ukraine to the management of public finances. including energy policy.

He addressed the voters of the candidate of Place Publique/Raphaël Glucksmann (13.8% of the votes on Sunday), faced with the hypothesis of the arrival in Matignon of the leader of La France insoumise, Jean-Luc Mélenchon.

“WE DIDN’T DO EVERYTHING RIGHT”

Faced with the extremes and their allies, Emmanuel Macron proposed building a “federation of projects” with “social democrats, radicals, ecologists, Christian democrats, Gaullists and more broadly, many of our compatriots who do not recognize themselves not in extremist fever.”

“We are not perfect, we have not done everything well but we have results,” also argued the unpopular president, in power for seven years.

On the subjects of immigration and security, major concerns of the French, Emmanuel Macron has pitted the far left of “communitarianism and laxity” against each other and the far right which wants to “respond to insecurity by leaving of the principles of the Republic.

The head of state has ruled out resigning in the event of his camp’s defeat. “It’s no,” he said.

Asked about the concern of neighboring countries, notably Ukraine, at the idea of ​​seeing the National Rally come to power, Emmanuel Macron kicked in, declaring that France would emerge “weakened” in the event of a victory for the extremes on the 7th. July but “clearly” reinforced otherwise.

“No to the spirit of defeat, yes to awakening, to the Republican surge!”, he concluded, to the applause of members of the government.

(Report by Elizabeth Pineau, edited by Blandine Hénault)