The National Council of Les Républicains has decided on a formal union around the project presented by the party’s Bureau.
The slogan of the president Laurent Wauquiez, which had sparked controversy, “For France to remain France” was deemed too identity-focused—leading to the crisis with the number two, Virginie Calmels, who was ousted for having sharply criticized it—has been replaced with a more accommodating one, “Concrete Europe,” which allows everyone to interpret it in a way that suits them.
However, it is not with slogans empty of meaning that one can advance one’s ideas in a confusing context but by taking the reality into account.
For example, how can this charter be reconciled with the one presented last week by the movement La France Audacieuse, which is much more advanced in terms of adhering to a Europe to which member states must cede part of their national sovereignty and whose preamble is titled: “Yes, we are Europeans and we dare to say it!”?
Today, the French right is divided into two major currents that seem irreconcilable: the neoliberals and the nationalists. La République En Marche tends to monopolize the neoliberal position and the Rassemblement National (formerly the Front National) the nationalist position, with Europe being a key dividing point.
The euro is a perfect example of these dissensions. For the neoliberals, it represents an ideal vehicle for economic liberalism, while nationalists see it as the epitome of the loss of sovereignty that EU membership entails. The last presidential election illustrates this division at the polls. The second round saw a neoliberal, pro-European candidate, Emmanuel Macron, pitted against a nationalist candidate opposed to the European integration process, Marine Le Pen.
Currently, the Les Républicains party must find its place on the French political chessboard, where the positions of neoliberalism and nationalism are already occupied by La République En Marche and the Rassemblement National. Its hesitation could cost it dearly in the upcoming European Parliament elections in May 2019.
