The president of the National Group confirms an “agreement” with the Republicans ahead of the elections

The main figures of Los Republicanos meet at the party headquarters to address the situation and call a meeting of the political committee for Wednesday

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The president of the National Group and main candidate for the French legislative elections, Jordan Bardella, confirmed this Tuesday that his party will reach an “agreement” with The Republicans after its leader, Eric Ciotti, hours before opened the door to this possibility .

“I am glad that Eric Ciotti has responded favorably to this call and I confirm to you this afternoon that, therefore, there will be an agreement in these legislative elections between the National Group that I chair and the Republicans,” Bardella said during an interview for France. 2.

Thus, Bardella has asserted that he is still in contact with Ciotti and will continue to do so “in the next” hours and “probably” until beyond the night, and has announced that “several dozen” deputies from Los Republicanos “will be supported or invested” by the National Group.

The Republicans and the National Group differ on some key reforms, such as pensions. Questioned about this matter, Bardella has refused to comment on the matter, although he has advanced that his agreement with Ciotti’s formation will focus on proposals for “purchasing power, security and immigration.”

THE REPUBLICANS, ON WAR PART AGAINST CIOTTI

The president of Los Republicanos had opened the door hours earlier to a possible alliance with the National Group, led by Marine Le Pen, thus unleashing an internal crisis within the party, which for the most part opposes any type of agreement with the extreme right.

In fact, several senior Republican officials met at party headquarters after Bardella’s announcement to address the situation. The heads of the Republican benches in the Senate, Bruno Retailleau, and in the National Assembly, Olivier Marleix, both opposed to the agreement, are part of the summit.

The Parisian senator Agnés Evren has confirmed to the newspaper ‘Le Monde’ that a meeting of the political committee will be held on Wednesday afternoon at the headquarters of The Republicans. One of the party’s barons, Xavier Bertrand, president of the Haute-France regional council, has accused Ciotti of “treason.”

Likewise, Bertrand has demanded the immediate resignation of Ciotti, his expulsion from the party and has requested a vote of the party’s supporters “to decide whether or not they approve the choice of this agreement.” “He betrayed us for a ministerial position. He is miserable, he is deeply unworthy,” he reproached.

This political movement occurs in a context evidently marked by President Emmanuel Macron’s decision to call early legislative elections for the end of the month in response to Le Pen’s resounding victory in the European elections, where she won more than 31 percent of the votes. votes.

The main parties of the political spectrum of the left – France Insoumise, the Socialist Party, the ‘greens’ and the Communist Party – already announced the day before an agreement in principle for a “new popular front” focused on stopping. to the extreme right and macronism.