PARIS — Only a day after French President Emmanuel Macron called a high-stakes snap election, the country’s two leading far-right forces explored the possibility of teaming up against him in a showdown that stands to prove crucial for the future of both France and the EU.
While the French president is gambling he can stem the surge of nationalist, anti-immigration rightwingers in a national election, his rivals are testing the waters for a united front.
“Given the gravity of the situation for our country, I was keen to meet with Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella to seize the opportunity to build a government coalition.”
Suggesting there is a rift between the two most prominent personalities in Reconquest, Bardella praised the “constructive attitude” of Maréchal “as opposed to Éric Zemmour.”
Two years ago, the four parties agreed on running a united left-wing front with a shared manifesto, allowing the French left to more than double its total in the National Assembly and block Macron from securing a majority.
But the alliance did not survive the test of time and each force ran separately in the European election, exposing their disagreements on matters including the wars in Ukraine and Gaza and EU integration.
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