why the legal battle over the Republican presidency is not over

“Justice has spoken, I am president of the Republicans”, welcomed Eric Ciotti, Friday June 14, in the evening. Did the boss of LR rejoice too soon? While theThe party’s national office voted twice the exclusion of its leader, after its electoral agreement with the National Rally for the legislative elections, the Paris judicial court decided to suspend the sanction.

But the legal battle has only just begun. The court in fact ruled in summary proceedings, that is to say within the framework of an emergency procedure. This invalidation is therefore temporary. The court made it clear in its reasons, consulted by franceinfo, that this suspension is only valid “until a final decision on the merits is rendered”. A court must be seized “within eight days” by “the most diligent part”otherwise “the measure of suspension” of the two votes of the national office of the Republicans “will lapse”.

This means that Eric Ciotti will once again have to challenge the legal validity of his ouster from the leadership of the Republicans in court. On X, the LR account has already announced to seize “the trial judge as quickly as possible”. This time, the issue will no longer be the potential freezing of the procedure, but the arbitration of all disputes between the parties. This deadline will collide with another, purely political one: the deputy for Alpes-Maritimes takes over the leadership of the party two days before the expiration of the deadline to nominate candidates for the early legislative elections, Sunday June 16, at 6 p.m. in the prefecture.

The summary procedure aims to prevent damage or put an end to an unlawful disturbance, according to the Vie-publique.fr website. In this case, it is“avoid the irrevocable loss by Eric Ciotti of the possibility of applying for a national election as a member of the party of which he claims the presidency”, according to the judgment consulted by franceinfo. The magistrate also underlines that the summary judges do not have “vocation to interfere in the modalities of governance of the Republicans”but to apply a measure “in view of the urgency and serious conflict” which oppose the deputy of Alpes-Maritimes and thehe political office of the right-wing party.

By ruling on the exclusion of Eric Ciotti, the magistrates also suspended the effects of this decision. Thus, the Nice elected official will be able to use the logos and the LR brand during the legislative campaign in his capacity as party leader, unlike his dissidents. The judges also refused to convene a new political office, to the great dismay of Annie Genevard and François-Xavier Bellamy, who railed against their president. They too will have to wait to defend their version of the facts again in court.

Friday, one of LR’s two lawyers, Benoît Verger, estimated that by announcing an electoral alliance with the National Rally, Eric Ciotti had made a decision “lonely” and that he “did not have statutory power” to form this alliance. The deputy for Alpes-Maritimes “violated the statutes” of his own party by changing his “political orientation”he insisted. “The political bureau met in defiance of the texts”argued LR’s other lawyer, Philippe Prigent, who castigated a “putsch”.

Eric Ciotti’s lawyer, Philippe Torre, assured that the decision which “will settle all disputes between the parties” will intervene “in a year, in two years”. “We will see each other again in a year for the decision on the merits, and then a year later for the appeal. Because they will multiply the procedures to agitate. But I am completely confident”he declared Friday on franceinfo, considering the judges’ decision in summary proceedings “particularly strong”.

The Republican campaign therefore finds itself conditioned by a judicial temporality far removed from political frenzy. And haswhile its leaders are torn apart, the Ciotti camp like that of its opponents is working on the inaugurations of their candidates in the legislative elections of June 30 and July 7. The president of the RN, Jordan Bardella, announced Friday on BFMTV that“there will be a common candidate” RN-Republicans “in 70 constituencies” during the first round on June 30.