‘We wish to govern’, Marine Le Pen says ahead of second round of French election
Speaking on France Inter this morning, the far-right National Rally’s Marine Le Pen said she would be respectful of Jordan Bardella’s role if he becomes prime minister and that she wouldn’t want to be part of the government herself.
Asked if the National Rally would attempt to form a government if it doesn’t get a majority in the national assembly, Le Pen argued a majority would be needed.
“It is evident that we cannot accept to go to government if we cannot act,” she said.
“We wish to govern,” she stressed.
But she also said that if the National Rally is a bit short, it will try to make up that majority with extra MPs, for example from the right.
Le Pen also said she would not sit in the government and that she won’t be president of the national assembly.
“I will be at the head of the group of deputies,” Le Pen said.
Asked whether she would join a new European political group formed by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, she did not give a concrete answer, instead saying the party will look at what’s on the table after the French election.
“We are concentrated on an election that is fundamental for the future of the country,” she said.
“Nous souhaitons gouverner, que les choses soient extrêmement claires”, affirme Marine Le Pen.
Mais “il est évident”, dit-elle, “que nous ne pouvons pas accepter d’aller au gouvernement si nous ne pouvons pas agir”. #le710inter pic.twitter.com/ESqy0BYejv
— France Inter (@franceinter) July 2, 2024
Key events
Gabriel Attal, the prime minister and a Macron ally, said that “from the first round, we made the choice in more than sixty constituencies not to present a candidate.”
Gabriel Attal: “Dès le premier tour, nous avons fait le choix dans plus d’une soixantaine de circonscriptions, de ne pas présenter de candidat” pic.twitter.com/sVPmpZHtug
— BFMTV (@BFMTV) July 2, 2024
The Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions (Crif) issued a call today for a republican front to battle the National Rally without compromising with the hard left France Unbowed (LFI).
Faithful to its historic commitments, the Crif calls on the French to mobilise to prevent the National Rally from coming to power by voting massively for candidates from democratic and republican parties, and to categorically refuse any compromise with France Unbowed.
“Ni RN ni LFI”: le front républicain doit battre le RN sans compromission avec LFI
Fidèle à ses engagements historiques, le Crif appelle les Français à se mobiliser pour empêcher l’arrivée au pouvoir du Rassemblement National en votant massivement pour les candidats de partis…
— CRIF (@Le_CRIF) July 2, 2024
Anne Hidalgo, the socialist mayor of Paris, has called for blocking the far right, warning of a “disaster” if the National Rally is not stopped.
Here’s an image from the campaign trail today.
The far right National Rally has decided to withdraw candidate Ludivine Daoudi after a photo emerged of her wearing a Nazi hat, France Bleu Normandie reported.
François Bayrou, a heavyweight former minister who heads a party allied to Macron, has said republicans and democrats must face their responsibilities.
“Do I wish for us to come together among republicans to block the RN? Yes,” he said.
🗣️ Je me suis battu toute ma vie pour que tous les courants de la démocratie puissent s’exprimer. Pour autant, je n’exonère pas ces formations politiques de leurs responsabilités. Est ce que je souhaite qu’on se réunisse entre républicains pour faire barrage au RN? Oui. pic.twitter.com/xLG9EnBDtm
— François Bayrou (@bayrou) July 2, 2024
Clément Beaune, a Macron ally, said there’s a need for systematic withdrawals from three-way races.
‘We wish to govern’, Marine Le Pen says ahead of second round of French election
Speaking on France Inter this morning, the far-right National Rally’s Marine Le Pen said she would be respectful of Jordan Bardella’s role if he becomes prime minister and that she wouldn’t want to be part of the government herself.
Asked if the National Rally would attempt to form a government if it doesn’t get a majority in the national assembly, Le Pen argued a majority would be needed.
“It is evident that we cannot accept to go to government if we cannot act,” she said.
“We wish to govern,” she stressed.
But she also said that if the National Rally is a bit short, it will try to make up that majority with extra MPs, for example from the right.
Le Pen also said she would not sit in the government and that she won’t be president of the national assembly.
“I will be at the head of the group of deputies,” Le Pen said.
Asked whether she would join a new European political group formed by Hungary’s Viktor Orbán, she did not give a concrete answer, instead saying the party will look at what’s on the table after the French election.
“We are concentrated on an election that is fundamental for the future of the country,” she said.
“Nous souhaitons gouverner, que les choses soient extrêmement claires”, affirme Marine Le Pen.
Mais “il est évident”, dit-elle, “que nous ne pouvons pas accepter d’aller au gouvernement si nous ne pouvons pas agir”. #le710inter pic.twitter.com/ESqy0BYejv
— France Inter (@franceinter) July 2, 2024
Good morning and welcome back to the Europe blog.
Today we will be focusing on the latest in France, as the country prepares for the second round of a closely-watched legislative election this weekend.
We’ll also be keeping an eye on how the European far right is reacting to political shifts in France, and how far right parties are reshuffling their own alliances for the incoming European parliament.