Emmanuel Macron is facing an even stronger political adversary as the leader of the National Rally (RN) announced a deal with The Republicans party had been struck.
Founded by former French President Nicolas Sarkozy, the Republicans held 61 seats in the parliament dissolved by Mr Macron on Sunday.
Jordan Bardella, the rising star politician and president of the RN, announced on Tuesday in an interview with France 2: “I launched an appeal to all the patriotic political groupings around Rassemblement National who want to contribute to this recovery majority [and] I’m delighted that Eric Ciotti [has] responded favourably.”
Mr Ciotti, who has been leading the Republicans since December 2022, had already ruled out on Sunday an alliance with Mr Macron’s party Renaissance.
He wrote on X: “It is out of the question to enter into a coalition with the government that has done so much damage to France.”
Far-right party RN, currently projected to win France’s snap election without an absolute majority, isn’t alone in seeking political alliances ahead of the vote.
On Monday, the leaders of the four main parties on the left side of the political spectrum agreed to form a “popular front”.
Announcing their deal, the Greens, Socialists, Communists and La France Insoumise said they were bringing together “all the forces of the humanist left, trade unions, associations and citizens”.
The race to create alliances comes after Mr Macron called for a snap election in the wake of his allies’ defeat to the RN in the European elections.
On Tuesday, Mr Macron defended his decision – seen by many as a political gamble, as he said in an interview with Le Figaro: “I have listened to the French people. Now is the time for clarification. Dissolution is the clearest, most radical and strongest gesture. A gesture of great confidence in the French people.”
He added that he did not think that the far right could garner the same support in a domestic election as it obtained on the European stage.