The treasurer of LR, Daniel Fasquelle, votes Macron but his enthusiasm unsettles his comrades

New friction before explosion? The second round of the presidential election has not yet taken place, but at Les Républicains it is already heating up. And as so often on the right, dirty laundry is washed in public. This time, the spark comes from Le Touquet, a city run by LR treasurer Daniel Fasquelle, but also Emmanuel Macron’s heart and weekend city. In a long press release published on social networks on Friday morning, the city councilor explains that he chooses “without hesitation” to vote for the outgoing president on Sunday and calls on the French to do the same. A text that makes you cough on the side of the rue de Vaugirard, where Fasquelle is accused of rolling, now, for macronie.

This is because the document does not really look like a simple voting instruction. Unlike many LR figures who undertake to block the far right by voting for Macron, and this by limiting themselves to warning about the risk that a Marine Le Pen in power would represent, Danielle Fasquelle, shows a certain enthusiasm for the candidate president. According to him, Emmanuel Macron “Strengthened by the experience of a first term, we will be able to face current and future crises and bring the country together to improve its recovery”. Remarks similar to those of the mayor of Nice Christian Estrosi at the time of his rallying to the Head of State. Better, the treasurer of the Republicans also addresses the post-presidential. And on this subject, the former deputy believes that the President “we must tomorrow bring the country together within an ambitious project for France and Europe”. Which looks a lot like a position in favor of an LREM-LR agreement.

“Treasurer of the licking committee to Emmanuel Macron”

Enough to strangle a number of elected LRs who did not hesitate to attack Fasquelle head-on. In a murderous tweet the number 3 of the party Aurélien Pradié writes: “If there is a little energy left in Daniel Fasquelle, he can become treasurer of the committee of licking Emmanuel Macron. As far as we are concerned, we will find strong women and men to rebuild an independent right. To serve the French and popular France.” No more measured, Senator LR from Côte-d’Or Alain Houpert indicates that he will “stop[r] [sa] contribution of elected to the party of 3,000 euros per year”. “I’m going to award it to a more charitable association”, he squeaks. Faced with his criticisms, the councilor of Le Touquet clarified in a tweet that his position is not worth rallying, but that it “marks a desire to act in dialogue with the President of the Republic”.

Without citing the Fasquelle case, the right-wing MP for Vaucluse Julien Aubert also took part in the debate. “Les Républicains candidates for the legislative elections who join a coalition of support for Emmanuel Macron must be disembarked immediately and [avoir] LR candidates invested against them. Stop this hypocritical ambivalence, which takes our voters for fools”, he assures. It is true that the press release from the mayor of Le Touquet has, on the form, something disconcerting. The text of the former deputy is illustrated with a photo of Fasquelle and Macron side by side, thus taking up the visual identity of the leaflets and posters of the LREM candidates for the 2017 legislative elections.

Far from being anecdotal, the heated exchanges between LR express the debates which are currently going through the party on rue de Vaugirard the day after a particularly complicated presidential election. For the rest, some like Guillaume Larrivé, Jean-François Copé or even the right-wing taulier Nicolas Sarkozy plead for a rally with the macronie or at least agreements for the legislative elections. While others refuse any arrangement and want LR to remain an opposition party in the event of Emmanuel Macron’s victory. Which could also clarify things. According to a minister, quoted by the HuffPost, “between 20 and 30” LR deputies are said to be ready to join in the coming weeks.