Valérie Hayer, president of the Renew (Renaissance) group in the European Parliament, made it official on Thursday February 29, in an interview with Le Figaro, that she had been designated by Emmanuel Macron to head the majority list in the European elections.
“I accepted with pride, enthusiasm and a spirit of responsibility. I am proud to be the standard bearer of the only pro-European coalition in this election,” declared Ms. Hayer, putting an end to the wait of Emmanuel Macron’s camp for the choice of the head of the list, at a little more than three months before the election for which the majority is clearly behind the National Rally in the polls.
Originally from Mayenne, aged 37, this former member of the centrist UDI party joined Emmanuel Macron in 2017 and was elected MEP in 2019. She became president of the Renew group in the European Parliament after the appointment of Stéphane Séjourné as Minister of foreign Affairs.
“New breath, new ideas”
The formalization of his designation comes after several refusals, including those of Bruno Le Maire and Julien Denormandie, to lead the list for this crucial election for the majority, the first national election since the re-election of Emmanuel Macron in 2022.
But “there is no refusal of obstacles,” assures Ms. Hayer to Le Figaro. “European commitment is at the heart of our project. Since 2017, our results speak for us, no other movement has done so much in such a short time. Starting from Emmanuel Macron’s speech at the Sorbonne, we contributed to changing Europe. With new energy and new ideas, we will continue this project”.
Ms. Hayer strongly attacked the far-right party and its president and lead candidate, Jordan Bardella. “Are we patriotic when we take out a loan directly with Vladimir Putin? Are we patriotic when the National Assembly judges that you are the transmission belt for Vladimir Putin in France? The National Rally calls itself patriotic, but at the slightest geopolitical upheaval, it falls into submission.”
She also criticized the head of the list of the Les Républicains (LR) party: “When I look at the votes of François-Xavier Bellamy, I sometimes wonder what distinguishes him from the RN or Marion Maréchal. »
As for the leader of the socialist list, Raphaël Glucksmann (Place Publique), “we vote 90% the same way in the European Parliament. He should be with us, and he knows it. He would be much more effective in carrying out his ideas and getting results.”
At the end of these European elections, “the risk is to experience a Brexit from within, if the Eurosceptics are in the majority,” believes Ms. Hayer. “These forces want to put an end to the project of Jacques Delors and Simone Veil. They want to destroy Europe from within and bring down our democratic model. They are the objective allies of Trump and Putin, it is the program of Jordan Bardella and the German AFD, a neo-Nazi party which defends a “remigration” project; it’s Viktor Orban, who jokes about the gas chambers. »
Does she support Ursula von der Leyen’s candidacy for a new term as head of the European Commission? “We will see the balance of power the day after the election,” she evaded.
