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French elections: centrist Bayrou offers alliance with Macron French elections: centrist Bayrou offers alliance with Macron
(about 1 hour later)
Heavyweight centrist François Bayrou, the eternal “third man” of French politics, has surprised his supporters by offering to stand in an alliance with Emmanuel Macron in April’s presidential elections. Heavyweight centrist François Bayrou, the perennial “third man” of French politics, has surprised supporters by saying he will not stand for president but instead offer an alliance with Emmanuel Macron.
Bayrou said the country was at “extreme risk” and needed what he described as an exceptional response. Bayrou said the country was at “extreme risk” and needed what he described as an “exceptional response”.
After weeks of suspense, Bayrou, 65, president of the Democratic Movement (MoDem) and a veteran of the last three presidential elections, had been expected to announce that he would join the 2017 race. After weeks of suspense, the 65-year-old president of the Democratic Movement (MoDem) party and veteran of three previous leadership elections had been expected to announce he would join the presidential race.
Instead, he launched into what he said was “possibly a project of abnegation”. Instead, he said he would not stand but offered to join forces with Macron, 39, the former Socialist economy minister who is standing on a centrist ticket.
“I have two paths, to stand myself or to look for an unusual solution,” he told a press conference. “I have decided to offer Emmanuel Macron an alliance. The announcement on Wednesday, described as an unprecedented move, took French political pundits and rival candidates by surprise. Many see it as a major potential boost for Macron, whose campaign had appeared to stall.
“I have examined for several weeks all the elements allowing me to judge our country and I want to say at what point the seriousness of the situation has hit me. Never in the 50 years past has the democracy in France known such a situation.” Polls suggest the bulk, though not all, of Bayrou’s support – thought to be worth 5-6% of the vote in a race that may come down to two or three percentage points – will transfer to Macron, increasing his chances of advancing to the second round runoff ahead of his scandal-hit centre-right rival, François Fillon.
He went on to outline his conditions for such an alliance with Macron, whom he described as “brilliant”. “I have two paths, to stand myself or to look for an unusual solution. I have decided to offer Emmanuel Macron an alliance,” Bayrou told a press conference.
“The aim of this alliance will be to give hope [to the French people],” he said. “Perhaps it’s a sacrifice for me, but I feel there are times one has to rise to the seriousness of the situation and consider how to get out of it. It’s not a time for me to think of myself, but of my country.”
Bayrou, who was an education minister in a centre-right government in the 1990s, said he was aware this path would disappoint some supporters, but he had decided to be “generous and open”. Faced with the far-right Front National candidate Marine Le Pen – currently leading polls for the first round vote – who he described as the “threat and major danger for our country and Europe”, and Fillon, who has been hit by allegations over jobs given to his wife and children, Bayrou said the French were “disorientated and despairing”.
He said he had spoken to Macron a week ago and insisted it should be an “alliance” and not a subjugation of all the centre stood for. “Never in the 50 years past has the democracy in France known such a situation,” Bayrou said, adding that French politics was riddled with “practices that would not be expected anywhere else”. The presidential campaign rocked by scandals had left him “stupefied” and “made a mockery of France”, he added.
More soon … “To the right, affairs have been uncovered that reveal not just the existence of privileges and tendencies but the tacit and almost unanimous acceptance of them.
“For a long time it’s been repeated that ‘everyone does it’. But I can stand here and say it is not true and it is defamatory for the vast majority of elected representatives.”
Bayrou said one of his conditions for an alliance with Macron, whom he described as “brilliant”, would be a major clean-up of France’s political life.
“French people feel politicians’ words count for nothing. They have no confidence in the words and promises they hear ... we have to convince the French our actions can match our words. It’s a good time to do it even if it is a sacrifice,” he said.
Bayrou, who was an education minister in a centre-right government in the 1990s, said he had spoken to Macron a week ago and insisted it should be an alliance and not a subjugation of the “French centrist movement”.
“Perhaps this can be the foundation of a new approach in French politics,” he added.