Paris The bourgeois-conservative camp ruled France for a long time. President Jacques Chirac and his successor Nicolas Sarkozy belonged to the camp. The formerly large People’s Party of Republicans has lost its influence in recent years and is facing a trial: four candidates and one candidate are in the running for the presidential election in April 2022. At the party congress between December 1st and 4th, party supporters are supposed to vote for their presidential candidate.
“I’m ready,” said Michel Barnier recently. He is catching up in the polls, by two points in the past few weeks. The 70-year-old former chief Brexit mediator is in conversation more and more often. It is said in France that he has a lot of support in the ranks of the Republicans.
The Financial Times even sees him as a favorite in the Republican primary campaign, even though polls show that he is not number one. His discreet manner does not go down well with everyone. “Le Journal du Dimanche” wrote about him: He had the power of persuasion “of a sleeping pill”.
He is the oldest of the candidates and relies on his experience and network as a former senator, member of parliament and EU commissioner for the internal market. He was also Minister for Foreign Affairs, Europe and the Environment several times. At the post of “Monsieur Brexit” he had “received recognition from a head of state,” said European Secretary of State Clément Beaune.
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Barnier poses as a wise reconciler and tries to differentiate himself from French President Emmanuel Macron, who is considered by many to be arrogant. Barnier is pro-European, but his messages contrast with what he advocated as a Brexit negotiator.
Right-wing extremists lead before conservatives
He is calling for a moratorium on immigration and asylum policy, wants to “regain control” for France and is critical of the Schengen Agreement. He also announced: “I want to change the EU.” The program critical of the EU brings him sympathy in his party.
The right-wing extremist Marine Le Pen ranks around 20 percent ahead of the conservatives.
(Photo: AP)
In the polls, however, Xavier Bertrand is doing better. According to recent surveys by research companies Elabe and Harris Interactive, the five conservatives are between three and 14 percent in the first ballot. So they have no chance of the runoff election.
Former Health Minister Bertrand achieved 13 to 14 percent, followed by Valérie Pécresse (nine to eleven percent) and Michel Barnier (nine to ten percent). Below are Éric Ciotti (five percent) and Philippe Juvin (three to four percent).
Right-wing extremists Marine Le Pen (up 20 percent) and Éric Zemmour (down 15 percent) rank ahead of them. Macron’s polls for the first round of voting have been stable at 25 to 27 percent for weeks because his crisis management during the pandemic was positively received by the population.
Struggle for political survival
Republicans have been fighting for political survival since 2017. The party is wedged between Macron, who is in the political center and who has poached many conservatives, and the far right fringe of Marine Le Pen. In times of need, the conservatives have decided to slide to the right.
Their debates brought them back into the limelight, and within ten weeks the number of party supporters rose from 80,000 to 140,000 who were allowed to vote. The exchange was mainly about aspects that the extreme right is particularly interested in: immigration and security. According to surveys in France, the issue of purchasing power is of particular interest to voters.
Besides Barnier, Bertrand has long been considered a favorite. The 56-year-old president of the Hauts-de-France region and former health and labor minister calls for a stronger nation-state vis-à-vis the EU. Immigration in France should take place according to a quota system.
Barnier is the oldest of the candidates and relies on his experience and network as a former senator.
(Photo: imago images / PanoramiC)
Former Trade Minister Valérie Pécresse, who was still considered moderate among the five contenders, has also tightened her tone. The 54-year-old, who is currently president of the Ile-de-France region around Paris, wants to take stronger action against illegal immigration. She defines herself as a “woman of order and a reformer”.
Éric Ciotti, the 56-year-old MP for the Alpes-Maritimes department in southern France, wants to save France from further “relegation”. He represents the right wing of the Republicans. For some in his party he is too far to the right. Ciotti had stated that in the event of a runoff between Macron and Zemmour, he would choose the controversial moderator.
Philippe Juvin, the 57-year-old mayor of La Garenne-Colombes near Paris, is also head of the emergency department at the Georges-Pompidou hospital in Paris. The Covid-19 pandemic made him known. He said of himself: “I am an alternative for those who know that traditional recipes no longer work.”
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