In the deaf war between Edouard Philippe and Emmanuel Macron, the race for territorial anchoring is launched under the radar. The Renaissance presidential party, which claims 27,000 members, opens its internal elections on January 28 to appoint its local leaders making up the departmental assembly. “Small Renaissances all over France will have their own budgetexplains the party’s spokesman, Loïc Signor. The bet is to reverse the trend after the catastrophic intermediate elections and prepare for future local elections. »
However, an internal Renaissance circular provides that “in the event that the number of members would be less than 30 [par département]on December 31, 2022, the election would be postponed”. Several departments will not be able to organize internal elections for lack of militants, as in Lozère, Haute-Marne, Meuse and Territoire-de-Belfort. In Béarn, the party spreads out its poll astride the Basque Country; in Corsica, it merges Haute-Corse and Corse-du-Sud. And, of the 86 departments endowed enough to play the game, nearly 60 will only have one list for internal voting.
Conversely, Edouard Philippe and his elected officials refuse to animate a “union of mayors”, but rely on the local roots of the party with some 20,000 members. Even if it means engaging in a standoff with Renaissance for the senatorial elections of September 2023, which will lead to the renewal of half of the upper house, i.e. 170 seats. “Our rule is to renew the leavers”, had warned Emmanuel Macron, at the dinner of December 7, 2022 at the Elysée, under the nose of Edouard Philippe and François Bayrou. On December 19, 2022, during a meeting at the Ministry of Agriculture between Marc Fesneau (MoDem), Franck Riester (Renaissance) and Pierre-Yves Bournazel (Horizons), the two allies of the majority pleaded for their candidates, judged “more unifying” than outgoing Renaissance senators. In vain.
“Case by case” strategy
On January 9, Emmanuel Macron’s party immediately invested its twelve outgoing senators, cutting short the hopes of Horizons and the MoDem. A “unilateral decision which only engages Renaissance”we criticize around Edouard Philippe, who considers himself in a better position in the Hauts-de-Seine, in Maine-et-Loire, in the Marne, in the Yvelines or in Paris. “We have 400 mayors in Horizons, there are not 40 in Renaissance”, privately compares the Minister of Ecological Transition, Christophe Béchu, Secretary General of Horizons. On the side of Emmanuel Macron, we exclude any backtracking. “It’s a lot of coffee, our partner wants positions on our seats rather than the remaining seatsstings François Patriat, president of the Renaissance group in the Senate. It’s very immoral to put fat on the skin of friends. »
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