A conservative lawmaker, speaking candidly on condition of anonymity, said the newly formed Republican Right political group would take a gradual approach and focus on securing key parliamentary posts at this stage rather than discussing forming a government. The group has officially registered as part of the opposition, the lawmaker added.
While the Conservatives have previously publicly ruled out an outright coalition with the pro-Macron faction, they have steadily demonstrated a willingness to find common ground on policy, proposing a “legislative package” focused on policies aimed at “better valuing Labour and restoring its authority.”
Meanwhile, the NFP now seems closer to collapse than ever before: intra-coalition squabbling and infighting have prevented it from narrowing it down to a single candidate for prime minister, and even agreeing on Chassaigne, a affable and well-respected MP, required negotiations until the day before the vote.
After the vote, several members of the party complained of fraud and accused Macron and the Ensemble group, a right-wing Republican Party supporter, of subverting the will of the people by making a secret deal to keep the president’s ally in his position despite the party coming second in parliamentary elections.
Several MPs booed Brown-Pivet during her re-election speech, and when she said “the French people have returned to the polls”, one MP shouted back: “Not for you!”
“Many people will ask themselves: is this a denial of democracy?” Macron’s opponent, veteran centrist lawmaker Charles de Courson, told reporters after the vote. Mr Courson ran in the first two rounds of the election on Thursday but withdrew before the final vote.
