A “rurality” list for Europeans… The hypothesis is taking shape more and more. It will be unveiled on December 6 and, according to our information, it already has a name: The rural alliance.
It is a lobbyist who is in charge, Thierry Coste, a friend of Willy Schraen, the president of the national hunters’ federation who could well see himself at the top of the list. But it is more of a unifying personality that is sought, who would not be labeled solely hunting. Thus, still according to our information, Christiane Lambert, the former boss of the FNSEA, the largest agricultural union, was contacted numerous times but each time she responded in the negative.
We have seen others sprouting up in Europe, particularly in the Netherlands, where the breakthrough of the BBB, the Farmer-Citizen Movement, is spectacular. Last March, he won the provincial elections. And the BBB, both rural and eurosceptic, is the favorite for the legislative elections in a few weeks.
Against “punitive ecology” and “European standards which complicate life”
So, even if they affirm that they have no ambition for the moment in a national election, Thierry Coste and his friends do not hide that their model is modeled on that of the Dutch BBB with the same credo: reconciling rural people and the townspeople against “punitive ecology” and the “European standards which complicate life”, a movement that is the opposite of the ecologists. And the rural alliance still has a goal: between 5 and 10% of the votes, which would be a feat for a new movement and which could shake the traditional parties.
The new movement would be located more to the right than to the left even if its initiators swear that it is transpartisan and that it targets voters from all sides. But in fact, it could especially harm the National Rally and the Republicans, which would benefit the marchers and the President of the Republic, today second in the polls behind the RN. Moreover, if we are to believe our lobbyist Thierry Coste, when he spoke about it to Emmanuel Macron last April, the Head of State would have welcomed this initiative very positively and would even have asked to be kept informed of it. But the Élysée wants to put things into perspective: “Some people claim support they don’t have.”
The fact remains that the rural alliance could draw votes from the side of the RN today at the top of the voting intentions for these Europeans. Be careful all the same. In politics, it has happened more than once that voters have contradicted paper reasoning.