Questioned on the sidelines of his trip to Brussels about the European election campaign, Emmanuel Macron deplored that “fears take advantage of the most simplistic answers”, Wednesday April 17. He also castigated the “hypocrisy” of those who denounce the European Union but reap the “silent dividends”.
“I think that there are a lot of fears, of worries in the moment we are experiencing and that these angers always benefit from the most simplistic responses,” declared the French head of state, upon his arrival in the Belgian capital before the holding of a European summit, during a brief exchange with the press alongside the head of his camp’s European list, Valérie Heyer. “There is today a kind of hypocrisy in the debate and I hope that by entering into it in the coming weeks, this hypocrisy will be lifted,” added Mr. Macron, implicitly targeting the National Rally (RN ), whose list is led by Jordan Bardella.
It was the first public appearance of the head of state and Ms Hayer since the start of the campaign, before they attended a meeting of the Renew Europe group together.
The far right targeted by the presidential camp
The candidate from the presidential camp is currently struggling to make her mark on the campaign. The Renaissance list remains well behind in the polls by that of the National Rally (RN), which continues to widen the gap and prances at more than 30% of voting intentions. Given around 16% of intentions, it is also closely followed by that of PS-Place Publique, led by Raphaël Glucksmann.
The presidential camp is also suspended from an entry into the campaign by the head of state, the contours of which have not yet been specified, while Prime Minister Gabriel Attal remains discreet on the matter for the time being. The latter is betting that the campaign will only really start in the home stretch, a month before the June 9 election. But in recent weeks the executive has targeted the far right, which it considers to be its main opponent in the election.
From Brussels, Emmanuel Macron took a first step in the offensive in view of the June 9 election, thus targeting without naming the RN, and its contradictions on the European question, the economy and even diplomacy. “Those who sometimes five years ago said “the solution is to leave the euro”, those who do not even vote for the common agricultural policy but then say to farmers at home “I defend you”, those who systematically have tried to weaken Europe in some way have the silent dividends of our own pro-European policy,” said Emmanuel Macron.
“They explain “we are going to make our country stronger”. If their policy had been followed for five years, we would not be here talking about our Europe in the same way! “, he continued, before adding: “They would have treated [Covid-19] with hydroxychloroquine, taken the Russian vaccine, divided Europe following Russian aggression. They would not have taken any sanctions [against Russia], Ukraine would have already been abandoned. And they would also have abandoned European ambition in terms of research and technology.
