why Emmanuel Macron wants to force the parties to take a position on the war in Ukraine

The President of the Republic must address, this Thursday morning, the question of aid to Ukraine with all parties. A way to push them to take a position on the subject, particularly the National Rally.

“I think that will clarify“the positions,” the Head of State told a few journalists on Tuesday March 5, on the sidelines of a trip to Prague. Emmanuel Macron wants to force the parties to take a position on the war in Ukraine. The Head of State receives in on the morning of Thursday March 7 all political groups, from France Insoumise (LFI) to the National Rally (RN).

He had already received party leaders in this same “Saint-Denis” format last October, after Hamas attacks against civilians in Israel. This meeting is being held a few days before a debate with a vote in the Assembly and the Senate, on the subject of the security agreement signed with Volodymyr Zelensky in mid-February at the Élysée. An assumed way for Emmanuel Macron to campaign against the RN.

Force the RN to position itself

Emmanuel Macron wants to force the far-right party to “come out of the woods“. First step: play on transparency. During this meeting, the president will deliver privileged information to party leaders on the situation in Ukraine. Aggressive Russia, difficult situation… The proof, according to a close friend of the head of the State, that “this agreement with Volodymyr Zelensky is fundamental for Ukraine to hold on”. The message is clear and binary: those who oppose it want Russia to win.

This is where the second stage will come: the debate in Parliament next week. There, it is impossible to deviate: the parties will have to say whether or not they support this security agreement. “We will see who is for Ukraine and who is for Putin”, decides a majority leader. If the objective is clearly to put the RN in difficulty, be careful, warns an MP, not to give the impression of using the war in Ukraine… to campaign in France. And this has not escaped Eric Ciotti… who intends to take advantage of it. The president of the Republicans fears that this meeting and these debates will be directly linked to the Renaissance group’s campaign for the European elections.

“We can clearly see the little scenario that the President of the Republic is setting up in a duel against the National Rally. This duel is not unrelated to its exit, and it is all the more serious.”

Éric Ciotti, president of LR

at franceinfo

Opposition parties doubtful

The other invited parties have difficulty seeing the point of this meeting. The president of the RN, Jordan Bardella, will come, but with low hopes. “It’s a lot of communication all the same, but Emmanuel Macron is a champion, he does it from Monday to Sundaytackles the party spokesperson, Philippe Ballard. The conventions or meetings he organizes generally don’t lead to much…”

On the other side of the political spectrum, at LFI, Manuel Bompard will also be present, with the objective of clarifying the question of the possible sending of troops to Ukraine. Even if, according to him, the invitation comes a little late: “If it is really a question of having a consultation with the oppositions, it is that first we discuss, and then he speaks, specifies the party coordinator. Not that he speaks, and then comes to explain to us what he wanted to say or what he did not want to say. I find that this would have been more respectful of normal democratic functioning.”he points out.