Emmanuel Macron, who should formalize his candidacy in the coming days, multiplied diplomatic meetings on Monday while his Prime Minister received candidates forced to position themselves, not without some contortions.
© STEPHANE LEMOUTON-POOL / SIPA
The presidential campaign turned upside down by the war in Ukraine : Emmanuel Macron , who will formalize his candidacy in the coming days, multiplied diplomatic meetings on Monday while his Prime Minister received candidates forced to position themselves, not without some contortions. Between the management of the Russian-Ukrainian war and the deadline, Friday, to submit his candidacy, the outgoing president is caught in a pincer movement, just 41 days from the first round. Unprecedented situation under the Fifth Republic: after a pre-campaign marked by the Covid pandemic, the April presidential election is hit hard by an international conflict in Europe.
The choice of the timing and the form of the declaration of candidacy – perhaps during a television news – of Emmanuel Macron, given for months largely favorite in the polls, is delicate in view of the volatility of the international situation. . Even if the conflict in Ukraine crushes the countryside and could ultimately turn into an asset for a head of state in office in a period of extreme instability. Two polls carried out after the Russian invasion also gave it Monday up 2 to 3 points in the first round, to 27/28% of voting intentions.
New Macron-Putin interview
After chairing a Defense Council in the morning, the Head of State discussed Monday for 1:30 with Vladimir Putin, asking him in particular to stop the strikes against civilians and to secure the roads. The Russian president “confirmed his willingness to engage” on these points, according to the Elysée. This meeting between the two leaders, the second since the start of the invasion of Ukraine on Thursday, comes as the military campaign led by Russia “is becoming more and more brutal”, estimated the head of diplomacy of the EU, Josep Borrell, reporting “many” civilian casualties. President Macron will then welcome German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to the Elysée for a working dinner with representatives of European industrialists. Additional sign that this campaign will be like no other, there is, “at this stage, no meeting planned for this weekend in Marseille” for Emmanuel Macron, as initially planned, said his campaign team. According to a source inside the presidential party, “nobody imagines an expression of fervor on Saturday because of the international context”.
For his part, the Prime Minister Jean Castex organized an “information meeting” for the main candidates on the conflict in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Russia. All the candidates concerned accepted, except Nathalie Arthaud (LO). Traveling to Reunion, the Insoumis leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon must, according to his entourage, be received at Matignon on his return. Certainly from Wednesday. “The meeting was held in good standing (and) was held in a spirit of great responsibility,” noted government spokesman Gabriel Attal. At the exit, the candidates welcomed a “useful and important” discussion, displaying for the most part their support for sanctions against Russia. Several of them insisted on the importance of maintaining democratic dialogue despite the current crisis, specifying that the Prime Minister had given “guarantees” on this subject.
Repositioning
The war in Ukraine also forces the candidates to turn their programs upside down and to position themselves on the conflict and its consequences. The far-right candidate Eric Zemmour, who condemned Moscow but whose pro-Russian positions are debated, estimated Monday on RTL that the arrival of Ukrainian refugees risks “destabilizing France”, and “prefers that they are in Poland “, that we “must help” to cope. The LR candidate, Valérie Pécresse, for her part, launched pikes at her far-right opponents, believing that “all those who advocate admiration or have a fascination for Vladimir Poutine are discredited today for presiding over France”.
On the left, the socialist Anne Hidalgo or the ecologist Yannick Jadot have attacked Mr. Mélenchon in recent days, also accused of sympathy with Moscow before the war. During a trip to Reunion this weekend, Mr. Mélenchon admitted to having “made a mistake”. Meanwhile, at the Salon de l’Agriculture, a must for any candidate, the fear of soaring prices was on everyone’s mind.
The question of “agricultural sovereignty will arise in the coming months in an acute way”, affirmed Ms. Pécresse, wishing the establishment of a “shield” to protect French farmers. As for the communist Fabien Roussel, he pleaded for “price security”, denouncing “the scandal” of “agricultural raw materials such as wheat or corn (which) become financial assets on which banks, investment funds choose to speculate”.