The exact sentence is this: “I call on all those who for six years and until this evening have committed themselves to working alongside me to transcend their differences to come together in a great political movement of unity and action for our country”. Sunday April 10, at the end of the first round, Emmanuel Macron continues: “I’m ready to invent something new to bring together diverse beliefs and sensitivities.” A call heard by Nicolas Sarkozy, who on Tuesday called on the Republican right to “respond to Emmanuel Macron’s call for a rally.”
No one will officially recognize it in the majority, but Emmanuel Macron’s project worries his allies. “Edouard Philippe is not very delighted, neither is François Bayrou”, believes an adviser to the executive. First, because no one knows what exactly Emmanuel Macron has in mind. “We still haven’t figured out what this thingy was”creaks a parliamentarian.
Will this great movement see the light of day before the June legislative elections? Is it intended to elect deputies in its name? “Probably yes”, responds laconicly close to the file. For François Bayrou, there is no question. One of his relatives gets carried away: “We haven’t crossed the desert for so many years to sell our movement to the cut”. “We bring our milk, we don’t give away our cows”, warns a minister. In other words, explain the same: “From the start, we keep the seats, we keep the dough.”
The central question remains that of the financing of the allies of Emmanuel Macron. It is the laws that determine who receives what. The state pays money to all parties whose candidates have obtained more than 1% in at least 50 constituencies. A second tranche of funding is paid according to the number of deputies actually elected. So if Emmanuel Macron absorbs everyone in the same movement, it is this movement that will affect public funding. It means financial asphyxiation of the MoDem and Horizons. And dilution of their political weight.
“Macron does not want a myriad of parties which support him and which at the same time prepare his succession the day after the presidential election. A large party of which he would be president makes it possible to settle this.”
An adviser to the head of stateat franceinfo
“At some point, there will be a balance of power”already warns a relative of Edouard Philippe. “François also knows how to bang his fist on the table”warns a close friend of Bayrou.