Macron supporters defend coalition to avoid election of Le Pen

O “Formal appeal” made by Clément Beaune and Philippe Grangeon comes after the historic victory of the far-right Alternative party for Germany (AfD) in the regional elections on Sunday in Saxony-Anhalt (east).

Beaune, High Commissioner for Planning, and Grangeon, Macron's former special adviser, considered that a victory of Marine Le Pen, which was preferred to victory in the first round scheduled for April 18, is not a fatality.

For the two pillars of the Macron campaign in 2017, “the key idea is summed up in a sentence: no one will win or rule alone in 2027.”.

“It is therefore necessary, for the first time under the V Republic, to try to build a coalition before the presidential election, instead of improvising it, under pressure, on the night of a second round and then necessarily with a view to the legislative elections”, they defended.

Marine Le Pen, 58, from the National Union Party, is running for the fourth time.

In 2012, it was third, behind François Hollande and Nicolas Sarkozy, and passed the second round in 2017 and 2022, but was defeated by Macron, who could not compete in 2027.

In an article published in the political magazine La Grande Conversation and quoted by the French agency AFP, Beaune and Grangeon stated that the alliance against Le Pen must bring together the central block, the left and the right.

The appeal goes “first to the actors of the central field, then to the impermeable left of France Unsubmissive [radical left] and to the hermetic right of the National Union, and finally to all citizens who refuse resignation”, they defended.

In France, the multiplication of candidates in the political space between the extreme right and the radical left causes fear of a spray of votes that could cause the elimination of moderate forces in the first round.

This scenario would pave the way for a second round between Marine Le Pen and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, leader of Unsubmissive France, at the end of which polls predict a significant victory of the far right candidate.

Beaune and Grangeon refused any alliance with the Republicans (right) on the basis of the party's current guidelines, which, they defended, should clarify the position in relation to the far right.

The centrist bloc is particularly fragmented with the competing candidates of two former prime ministers of Macron, Édouard Philippe and Gabriel Attal, who publicly display disagreements.

To build the coalition, Beaune and Grangeon defined three stages, the first being the unity “around a foundation of fundamental values”, with Europe “as a horizon”, democracy “as a method of action” and youth “as a priority ambition”.

Then “deduce from this a coalition program” and finally “choose the team called to incarnate it”.

For the two authors, surveys can then bring up a candidate unless primary elections are organised.

“ No alternative is drawn to date. If we sincerely believe that the time is serious, then we must act with gravity ", argued.