Will the rout blow up Les Républicains?
After the elimination, in the first round of the presidential election, of Valérie Pécresse (4.78%), the right focused on the definition of a common line for the final face-to-face scheduled for April 24.
Vote Emmanuel Macron to "block" Marine Le Pen?
Prefer the white vote?
Overview of the choices made by the heavyweights of LR.
To discover
LIVE - Presidential election: follow the start of the second round campaign
Presidential 2022: find here the result of the first round of the election
Second round: compare the programs of Macron and Le Pen
Read alsoPresidential 2022: Valérie Pécresse, the path strewn with pitfalls of a stubborn candidate
Those who call for a coalition with Emmanuel Macron
Nicolas Sarkozy
The former president waited a long time to break the silence.
He finally did so by announcing his intention to vote for Emmanuel Macron, believing that it was now necessary to
"get out of habits and partisan reflexes"
.
For him,
"loyalty to the values of the Republican right"
and the
"culture of government"
of the Republicans must lead them to "
respond to the call for Emmanuel Macron's rally for the presidential election".
Guillaume Larrive
The LR deputy from Yonne was the first to plead for a coalition of Republicans with the President of the Republic.
Already before the first round, this support from Valérie Pécresse had publicly expressed her desire to play collectively.
“There are strong convergences between the LR project and that of Emmanuel Macron”
, he explained to our colleagues from
Point
.
Jean-Francois Cope
The LR mayor of Meaux also suggests a rapprochement between LR and Emmanuel Macron.
On several occasions, already, since the defeat of Valérie Pécresse, the former minister of Nicolas Sarkozy pleaded for a
“pact of government”
of the Republicans with the president of the Republic.
A coalition which, according to him, would allow the Head of State, if re-elected, to have
“a pillar which participates in public action in the areas where Macron is failing: security, sovereign issues (…) but also the reforms”.
Franck Laborer
The mayor of La Baule did not procrastinate: he very quickly called for a vote on Emmanuel Macron, calling in the process for
“a coalition majority to respond to the urgent challenges that await us and to fight against the rise of extremes”
.
According to him, France should be inspired by
"European democracies and in particular German ones which allow coalitions to better advance"
.
Gil Averous
The aedile of Châteauroux is on the same line.
After the political office of the Republicans, the day after the first round, Gil Avérous decided to resign from the presidency of the committee of mayors of the Republicans because he was not in phase with the motion voted by the party.
“I wanted a clear call to vote for Emmanuel Macron.
We are a government party and I can't see myself leaving for five years of opposition,”
he explained to
Le Figaro
.
Jean-Luc Moudenc
The mayor of Toulouse also regretted that his political family did not call more clearly to vote Emmanuel Macron.
According to him, the Republicans must
"discuss, dialogue"
with the President of the Republic.
“What I believe is that if the President of the Republic remains only on his first round base or only on the presidential majority, then he will not pass the ramp for the second round.
I also believe that he is aware of it himself, he declared on the evening of the first round that he was ready for a rally
, ”said the councilor on France Bleu Occitanie.
Those who will vote for Emmanuel Macron
Valerie Pécresse
"
Despite the deep differences that I have hammered home throughout the campaign, I will vote in conscience for Emmanuel Macron to prevent the coming to power of
Marine Le Pen
and the chaos that would result from
it", declared Valérie Pécresse, the evening of his defeat.
To applause, the president of the Ile-de-France region believes that she has
"built [her] political commitment against the extremes of the right and the left"
.
“I have always fought them with strength and consistency because I believe, like Jacques Chirac, that everything in the soul of France says no to extremism.
Marine Le Pen's project, she added, would "
lead to the bankruptcy
" of the country.
Gerard Larcher
“I will vote on April 24 Emmanuel Macron”
, stipulated the President of the Senate on Twitter after acknowledging a
“historic electoral defeat”
for the Republican party.
"We failed to gain the confidence of the French for the presidential election."
Gérard Larcher also clarified that his choice of vote
“corresponds to the values that [he] carries and [s]on course.
It is neither a quitus, nor a rallying”.
Xavier-Bertrand
"Between Macron and Le Pen, I don't want Le Pen at the head of my country. It is the best interest of the country and I will put out a Macron bulletin”
, decided Xavier Bertrand.
“We must not procrastinate, we must be very clear.
If we want to avoid Le Pen and the National Front at the head of France, only the Macron bulletin can prevent it.
Neither the blank vote nor the abstention guarantee that the National Front will be prevented from reaching the head of the country
,” declared the president of the Hauts-de-France region.
Michael Barnier
He was one of Valérie Pécresse's "four musketeers".
The day after the candidate's defeat, Michel Barnier declared on Twitter:
“Today we have to choose between the far right and Emmanuel Macron.
In responsibility, I will vote for Emmanuel Macron.”
This, he specifies,
"in order not to add divisions within our country and to preserve us from the European divide"
.
Damien Abad
The president of the group in the Assembly, meanwhile, declared on the day of the results that
"faithful to [s]est values and to the history of [sa] political family"
, he would vote for Emmanuel Macron in the second round.
"Without any hesitation".
On TF1, Damien Abad continued:
"I don't forget what the far right was in our country."
Rachida Dati
"The Hangover."
On Franceinfo, Rachida Dati lamented a
"huge mess"
, commenting on Valérie Pécresse's score.
“As in 2017, we had everything to win.”
Mayor LR of the 7th arrondissement,
“seriously”
, calls for a vote for the candidate president with whom she has
“disputes”
.
However, she specifies,
"they are less serious than the risk of victory for the extreme right".
Those who refuse to vote Emmanuel Macron
Eric Ciotti
He was the first to say no.
“The French are free but, personally, I will not vote for Emmanuel Macron”
, indicated the elected representative of the Alpes-Maritimes on the evening of the results.
Aware of the fractures that this choice would cause in his political family, Éric Ciotti retorted: “
I have always had the same positions, the same consistency.
“Before adding:”
I reject these terms (dam) which are classic and which the French no longer support.
»
Julien Aubert
“On April 24, in my soul and conscience, I will vote blank.”
In a forum at Le Figaro, the LR deputy from Vaucluse.
“Unfortunately, the word Republic has meaning for me, and I cannot say or write that the Republic of Emmanuel Macron obeys the same values as mine.”
Bruno Retailleau
The tenor of the right also preferred the white vote.
"For the second round, I will obviously not vote for Marine Le Pen"
, decided Bruno Retailleau in a press release.
“His election would lead to the acceleration of the decline of our country and would further divide the French among themselves.
Demagoguery is not an option.”
Guilhem Carayon
The president of the Young Republicans, and candidate for the legislative elections in the 3rd district of Tarn, wrote on Twitter:
"For 5 years, we have fought the policy of Emmanuel Macron."
Out of “consistency,” he continued,
“I will therefore not vote for him.
The voting instructions are too reminiscent of the old world.
I will be careful not to give any away."
Gilles Platret
The mayor of Chalon-sur-Saône also said he would vote neither for Emmanuel Macron nor for Marine Le Pen.
“The Republican right does not have to choose between plague and cholera.
Let's have the decency not to give any voting instructions”
, he pleaded the day after the results of the first round, adding that his choice would be on the “blank” ballot.