The confinement period will have got the better of their cohabitation. On the departure for many months, in disagreement with the government line and dissatisfied with the organization of the majority, part of the left wing and ecologist of the walkers is preparing to slam the door of the group La République en Marche, already weakened by fifteen successive departures since the start of the legislature.
Tuesday, a score of deputies - including half of walkers - should announce the creation of a new autonomous group in the National Assembly, called Ecology, democracy, solidarity, during a virtual press conference. This collective, many times announced then rejected, will be piloted by two ex-LREM, Matthieu Orphelin, ecologist close to Nicolas Hulot, and Paula Forteza, from the left wing and specialist in digital. Former socialist minister Delphine Batho and mathematician Cédric Villani, dissident candidate of LREM in the municipal elections in Paris, are cited to be the vice-presidents.
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These elected officials plan to register as a “minority group”, that is to say “to vote on government texts when it is going in the right direction, and to oppose when it does not suit us” , confides l 'one of its future members, convinced of being able to "improve the daily life of the French, return to more human, of protection" .
"We are a real dream team, we have the best on each of the themes, so it's going to be a hit," wants to believe this elected official, while executives of the majority and those close to Emmanuel Macron mock a team of "odds and ends jug, of individuals who want to exist, without any political coherence ” .
Elected member of Val-d'Oise Aurélien Taché, known for his controversial positions on secularism, took the lead by announcing with harsh words his departure from LREM, on Sunday. “In 2017, I left the socialist party because it was not able to cross its borders. Today, I am leaving LREM for exactly the same reasons, ” he told the JDD , not failing to criticize the functioning and orientation of his ex-party. "I knew about the ruptures by SMS, but not through the press," reacts the boss of LREM, Stanislas Guerini, who had not been brought to the fore. It is not very responsible or respectful. ”
For the boss of the presidential party, who is trying to convince his troops to stay in the fold, the overcoming of political divisions and the diptych "liberate and protect" must "remain our political mantras" . "It is not when we define the line of the post that we secede, it seems out of place and these initiatives are entirely in the minority," he jokes.
The fact remains that this new parliamentary group risks announcing the end of an absolute majority for LREM in the assembly, which is only six units from the symbolic threshold of 289 deputies, three years after their triumphant and overwhelming arrival, at 314 in June 2017. A new arithmetic and political deal which will imply for elected Macronists to compose more with its allies of MoDem, Agir and UDI (read below) . "There is no drama, no fracturing," we trivialize in Matignon. It is only individuals who criticize. The majority remain strong and the principle of loyalty remains. ”
Minister MoDem of Relations with Parliament, Marc Fesneau even speaks of a "useful clarification" to defuse the political coup. "This is not a time to feed the divisions at all, this being also not a major political fact," he minimizes.
Read also: Crisis at LREM: MoDem and Agir want to seize the opportunity to strengthen themselves
Other majority leaders are taking fewer pains to decry what government spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye called this week "political misinterpretation" . "Good riddance! In any case, we were no longer counting on them to vote on the texts, ” fumes a minister. "These people who want to make a new group are assholes and do not deserve to be where they are!", Gets accustomed to a regular at the Élysée, when another already sharpens the knives for 2022. "These departures will free up ridings for our activists, ” threatens a relative of Macron. "In any case, they will be swept away like the others. Like the slingers before them, " predicts a minister.
So many threats and pressure shots that have already discouraged some elected officials from participating in the adventure of Orphans and others. “With us, it is the kingdom of people who are not brave. I'm sure there has been so much pressure that there will be no group! ” , predicts an LREM executive.
This event should once again highlight the dysfunctions and the inability of the LREM group to bring its different sensitivities to life. A reflection is underway at the level of the presidency of the group to "further assert our own political line" . "I still hope that things will change from the inside," says MP Jacqueline Maquet, "leftist macronist" , "disappointed with the pension reform" , who hesitated to join the future new group. "Many of us share their sensitivity," slips another elected official. At the moment, breaking up is not the right decision. ”
By the end of the week, "En commun" , a "left wing" , this time internal to LREM and led by Hugues Renson and Barbara Pompili, should also see the light of day. These are all initiatives that make the executive fear a difficult end to the five-year term. “We must be vigilant, especially in the post-crisis period. On the universal income, on the ecology, there can be a big pressure from the group while we also have a budgetary equation ” , fears a member of the government.